Omen of Dark Shadows
by IBarnabas
Summary: Story is a third film entry following the events,timelines,and continuity of the films, HOUSE/NIGHT OF DARK SHADOWS. This story will complete the series as a trilogy. I've also written in Robert Cobert music cues that are all available for listen on youtube for extra atmosphere. (Recommend to see both films before reading) (For optional story setup, see "DS: Diary of Titus Clark")
1. ACT I

(black screen appears, followed by white letters spelling out "A Dan Curitis Production")

-"Night of the Pentagram" by Robert Cobert begins playing, as the words, 'Omen of Dark Shadows' appear in white letters. Red slowly oozes down over the letters until they are completely covered in red, creating the title sequence-

-black screen fades into the dream kaleidoscope sequence as the 2nd half of the song begins to play. No cast members' names displayed for spoiler reasons-

ACT I

-the kaleidoscope effect subsides, and a white mist border appears around the screen to indicate a dream-

-the music piece, "The Secret Room" by Robert Cobert begins to play-

-the stairwell leading to the gallery is shown, and Angelique Collins is seen coming up the stairs, a troubled look on her face, her eyes dilated. All is silent except for the music. Angelique is calling out a name, but her voice is not audible-.

Angelique opens the door to the upstairs gallery and passes through.

-Before cutting away, Jeff Clark is seen following closely behind-

Bewildered, Jeff gets an impression that he is in a dream, and is observing something happening. He doesn't know who this beautiful woman is, or where exactly he's going. He only knows that she can't hear or see him. He follows closely behind Angelique; his face shows fright and confusion as if he doesn't know how or why he's there.

Walking slowly up the gallery staircase, Jeff finds Angelique screaming. Her eyes are filled with burning tears as she turns away from an impossibly old man lying helplessly on the floor in front of her. Her hand covers her mouth in shock and disbelief. She looks in horror at the painting of Charles Collins, which only a moment ago, showed Charles offering a young woman to her. Now, Angelique finds that the portrait that Charles once "brought to life" has been altered in a most horrific manner. Jeff's eyes gaze in wild disbelief at the grisly image on the portrait.

In the portrait, Charles has aged over a century, and his body is lying on the ground, looking exactly like the Old Man in front of him. Angelique is depicted as reaching out toward the Old Man. The portrait now shows the sky is blood-red. A pair of dark, almost black eyes open in the red sky above Angelique's image in the portrait. Frightened as if she suddenly recognizes whose eyes they are, Angelique runs past Jeff, still oblivious to his presence there.

Angelique runs desperately to open the gallery door and escape, but it's shut tight. She runs back to the Old Man who is lying in a frail, fetal position on the floor, and holds him. Jeff cannot hear her saying the name of the Old Man she is holding, but he is able to read her parting lips saying the name, "Charles".

Because of his aging, Charles is unable to speak, and Angelique looks in panic at the eyes in the portrait staring at directly at them. Her hand finds a sharp metal object lying on the floor. Gripping it tightly and with the ferocity of a scorned lover, she runs toward the portrait to pierce the eyes. Before she reaches the painting, she and Charles are engulfed in flames. The room does not burn, but their bodies are completely consumed. Charles' body slowly vanishes, and Angelique screams in torment as her body fades away.

-music cue "A Darkness at Collinwood" by Robert Cobert-

Jeff stands helplessly, not knowing what to do. Silence is broken as a loud voice echoes:

"CLAAAARK! I COMMAND YOU TO COME TO ME! YOU WILL OBEY ME!"

As the shrill reverb echoes through the house, Jeff runs down the stairs, through a door, finding himself in a dark corridor. A thick blue fog covers the room and is waist-high around him.

-as Jeff runs, the music grows louder and more erratic-

Jeff turns around frantically, seeing that he has nowhere to turn. Across the room, Jeff notices a man in a black robe with a hood covering his face standing there.

The man moves very slowly toward Jeff. The robed-figure pulls a small, black book from his robe. With each stride, the hooded-man's hand extends the book toward Jeff.

Forcefully, the man thrusts this book into Jeff's hand. Jeff looks down at the book, and looks again at the hooded figure whose hood is now removed. A strange, golden mask with many precious stones set deeply inside the face is revealed.

Jeff hears an unfamiliar voice reverberating as it speaks to him, "The time is come, Titus. You must return here..." As the words are spoken, the masked-phantom fades away and is gone.

-music cue "Night of the Pentagram" begins playing again-

Jeff, shaking his head in disbelief, tries to reassure himself through inner monologue: "I'm...I'm not really here. I'm only...watching. Nothing can hurt me. I'm just...watching."

Suddenly, a pair of hands with a familiar onyx ring reach from the darkness behind Jeff and grab his throat. No face or form can be seen, only the hands and gold ring with the black stone are visible. Jeff struggles to breathe, and begins to lose consciousness as he feels life slipping away from him.

Covered in perspiration, Jeff quickly sits up in his bed, choking and gasping for air.

-music stops-

(I do not own the rights to Dark Shadows. My fanfic is only intended for the enjoyment of the reader :)= )


	2. ACT II

ACT II

Maggie sat up in a panic, and she turned toward Jeff.

"Jeff! Jeff!", Maggie shouted as she quickly placed her arms around him. Jeff struggled in confusion and shoved her away. His pillow gave way as he fell back against the bed. His breathing was heavier, but slower. Feeling like his chest was caving in, he groaned loudly in pain. Reaching around quickly, Maggie grabbed the glass of water on her bedside,

"Jeff, drink this, hurry. Hurry, Jeff, you've got to." Maggie pleaded. Jeff's eyes shifted toward her, wide with panic, although he seemed to recognize her now.

"M-Maggie? Maggie...help...I...I...Can't...". Maggie lifted Jeff into a sitting position and leaned his body forward, and her hand rubbed his back. "You're alright, Jeff, you're alright."

Trembling, Jeff's hands fought to grip the glass, but Maggie helped raise the glass to his lips. Some water spilled on his chin,but he sipped enough to alleviate his panic. Jeff fell back against the headboard, his body limp and feeling very heavy. His breathing slowed, but was very deep. Jeff's hands began rubbing his throat and neck as the pressure and pain began to subside.

Sobbing with her hands covering her mouth, Maggie turned away and stood up from her side of the bed, walking toward the corner of the room. "Oh God...Oh God, please. I can't live like this anymore...I can't!" She turned around and looked at him, and turned quickly back, whispering, "I can't...I can't."

Jeff began coughing, and Maggie came to his bedside. "Are you alright? Can you get up?" Jeff nodded as he coughed, and Maggie helped him stand to his feet. Holding onto his arm tightly, she walked him into the kitchen. She led him to a chair, and helped him sit. She poured a glass of wine and gave it to him. "Here, drink this, Jeff."

Still trembling, Jeff drank a sip from the glass, spilling a few drops on his shirt. Maggie poured herself a full glass and took a large drink, grimacing from the pain as it went down. She sighed deeply, looking down with her back turned towards him. "Jeff, what are you going to do about these nightmares? I can't...I don't want you going back and locking yourself in that room."

Jeff slowly stood to his feet, but his face was red with anger and distress. "Now, Maggie, I'm not going through this again with you. I have to paint them. This one is different! I know it has to mean something. I saw his hands! It's the only way I can figure out what's going on and how to stop him. He has to be alive! I know it! He's wanting me to go back!"

Maggie turned around quickly and faced Jeff, her hand raised to slap him in the face before he caught it. "No! No...no...If you think I'm going back..."

Jeff grabbed her arms, "Stop it! Just stop it, Maggie! We're only here because of you! I know he's out there somewhere! He can't know you're here! I'm here sacrificing my life to protect you! You think I like being stuck here in the middle of nowhere? I was on my way to New York on a grant before all this happened!"

Maggie retorted angrily, "Well, if I'm ruining your life, why don't you just leave?!". She threw her glass against the wall, and took the wedding ring from her hand and slammed it on the table. "This is no life! Why did you let him bring us here?"

Jeff pointed his arm toward the door. "He was the only one who would listen to us! Do you think I was going to just leave you alone for Barnabas to..."

"Don't! Don't say that name! I told you, don't ever say that name!" Maggie stared at him so firmly. "I want to leave, Jeff. I can't stay locked up in this house anymore, I'll go mad!"

Jeff reached to hold Maggie, but she pulled away. "Oh, Maggie, please, not again. Look, you gotta give me some time to get in touch with the docttor. He put himself out a lot to keep us here, and we can't just up and move away from here. Where could we go?"

Maggie shook her head. "Not 'we', Jeff. Me. Stay here if you want, but I have to leave." Jeff started to interrupt, but Maggie spoke first. "He is Dead! He's not out there! I'm leaving...tonight."

Jeff moved in front of her to stand in her way, but a knock on the door interrupted them.

(The beginning of Robert Cobert's music, "Meditations" plays)

Startled, they both turn towards the door. Maggie's eyes stayed fixed on the door as she whispered. "Jeff, who is that? No one is supposed to know we're here."

Jeff shook his head in bewilderment. "I...I don't know. Go upstairs, Maggie. I'll get my gun."

Maggie went by the staircase, but she only hid halfway around the partition, and her eyes stayed glued to the door. Jeff opened a faux book from the mantle, and pulled a pistol from inside it. He slowly pulled back the hammer, and raised it in the air as he stepped toward the door.

The sky was still pitch black with night, and clouds covered the moon. There was no electricity in the house, but Maggie and Jeff had learned to live by candlelight and fireplace. The banging of thunder echoed across the sky, and rattled the floorboards of the little white shanty they lived in.

Maggie knew that the doctor would give an announcement that he was there as he knocked, and she knew the sound of his station wagon as it pulled up. There was no vehicle sound, no voice, nothing. Maggie wondered, that by Jeff speaking "his" name, if "he" could have appeared?

Jeff quietly crept toward the door and peered through the peep hole. He saw the outline of a hooded figure, and the pitch sky made it impossible to identify a face. Lightning flashed, and the figure turned it's head toward the sky, and banged again on the door. Very slowly, Jeff's hand unlatched the chain, and he reached for the door knob. Maggie's hands gripped the wood of the partition as she braced herself to run for cover. With a quick turn of the knob and the grating of the hinges, the door flew open and the rain and wind howled through the house.

The force of wind and the splashing of rain in his eyes forced him to raise his arms for cover, and, before he knew it, his finger slipped and pulled the trigger.

(I do not own the rights to Dark Shadows. My fanfic is intended only for the enjoyment of the reader )


	3. ACT III

ACT III

A shot rang out into the night, and the mysterious visitor dropped to his knees . Holding his hand over his shoulder, a cry emerged from the figure in shadow, "Aggh! My arm! Please don't kill me! Please!"

Jeff stood still in shock, but Maggie's eyes grew wide as she ran from behind the partition to the door. "David! David!" She knelt beside him, holding him in an almost motherly manner. She rocked him as she held him, "David, are you alright? Come on, come inside, quick." Jeff held the door open as they entered the house, and he closed it behind them and locked it.

David said aloud, "My arm...it hurts!" Jeff turned to David, "David, I'm sorry, I...I didn't mean..."

Maggie didn't say anything, but she gave Jeff a look of disgust. She turned back to David, and looked at his arm. "Let me see it, David. Come here." On his coat near his shoulder was a red oozing stain. Maggie took his coat and ripped the shirt sleeve. "I'm sorry, David. I'll get you one of Jeff's shirts in a minute. Hold still and let me see."

David, who was now a tall, sixteen year-old young man, stood quietly while Maggie examined his arm. Jeff looked at his arm with her, and, from all appearances, the bullet seemed to have only grazed him on the shoulder. It did not penetrate.

He stood just slightly taller than Maggie now. He was wearing an unkempt, long-sleeved collared-shirt and a pair of dirty denim pants. He hugged Maggie tight. "I heard you were here. I didn't think I'd see you again."

David winced in pain as he turned to Jeff, but he stood tall, masked his pain, and shook his hand as grownup boys should do. "Jeff, how are you? It's been a long time." Jeff awkwardly shook his hand and replied, "David, I'm fine, but, how did you know we were here? Who told you?"

Maggie interrupted, "Not now, Jeff. Come into the kitchen, David. You must be freezing. Let me get something to clean your arm. I'll get you something to drink. Are you hungry?"

David went with Maggie. "No, I'm okay. It's very cold, though. Do you have a fireplace I could sit by?" Maggie took him into their living room. Jeff put the pistol back in the faux book, and followed behind them.

Maggie grabbed an afghan from their couch and put it around David, and she lit the fireplace. "There, David. You should start getting warm now." David sat there shivering as Jeff walked in the room. "Maggie, we have to find out how he knew to come here. David, how did..."

Maggie interrupted again, her voice choking back sobs. "Jeff, please! Not tonight. He's been through enough already to come out this far. It's bad enough he came all this way in the middle of the night, then you almost killed him! " Jeff argued, "Maggie,it was an accident, but he's gonna be alright. It's just a scratch."

Maggie went into the kitchen and was rummaging through drawers looking for bandages and cotton balls. Jeff followed her in there, and tried to plead with her while her hands were busy opening and closing drawers. "Maggie, he might have been followed here, and we'd all be in great danger if somebody knew we were all here. We have to know!"

Maggie didn't say a word or even give Jeff a passing glance. She came into the living room by the fireplace with Jeff following closely behind. Maggie very carefully cleaned David's wound while Jeff got some more blankets from a small closet at the end of the room.

Maggie wrapped some gauze around David's shoulder and bandaged it tight. She confessed, "David, I'm sorry I couldn't take you to a hospital. We don't have a car, and we live out in the middle of nowhere, but I think you're gonna be alright." She tried to smile and be pleasant. "It's a lot different than when we lived at Collinwood, ya know? Look at you, you're all grown up now."

David suppressed a grin, and reassured her, "It's alright, Maggie. Here, it's...it's not hurting...as much, really." Maggie hugged David tight. "I'm so sorry about what happened to you, but I'm so glad you're here."

Jeff walked up, and tried to be cordial. "I'm...I'm sorry, David. It was an accident, but...what made you come out here? How did you find us? Who told you we were here?"

(Robert Cobert music cue, "Darkness at Collinwood" begins to play)

David reached inside his shirt. "I have something to give you. I hid it in my shirt when I saw that it was going to rain." David pulled out a small, black book. Jeff's eyes grew wide, and he snapped. "Where did you get that, David?! Why are you here?! Tell me now!" Jeff lunged toward David and picked him up and slammed him against the wall. Maggie screamed and tried pulling Jeff away from David, who stood horrified by his sudden outburst.

(Robert Cobert music cue, "Night of the Pentagram" plays)

Jeff's anger could not be subdued. "Who gave you that?! Answer me! Answer me, David!" David struggled against Jeff's hold. "Jeff, you're hurting me! Stop!"

Maggie pulled one of Jeff's arms away, but Jeff shoved her back and she fell to the ground.

David broke free and hurried to her side. He glared at Jeff in disbelief, who was standing there in shock at what he had done. David's eyes turned back to Maggie, who was still on the floor and crying. "Maggie, are you alright?"

Jeff knelt to help her up. "Maggie...I'm sorry, I...",

Maggie's eyes burned as she slapped his arm away. "Don't you touch me! How could you do that to him?! You monster!"

Jeff stammered on his words. "I...In my dream, I...I saw..."

Maggie rose to her feet while David stared at the two of them. "Don't you ever touch me! I'm taking him with me, and we are leaving tonight! You can stay here with all your paintings and your nightmares, but stay away from us! "

David looked sadly at Maggie, "Did I do anything wrong?" Maggie shook her head, "No, you didn't, David. He just overreacted. He's just been under a lot of stress and he's been mad at me, and he took it out on you."

Jeff broke in, "Maggie, I'm not mad at you! I just saw this book in my dream last night before something happened." Maggie ignored what he said, and turned to David. "It's alright, David. What is it? What is this book?"

David hesitated a moment, and looked at them. "I...I just wanted you to have this, Jeff. It has your last name on it. I came back to Collinwood last week and I found this in a cave below Widows Hill. I thought maybe it was yours. I don't know...how to explain it, but...I had a dream about this house. That's how I knew to come here. No one sent me here. It was...", David paused. "...just a dream I had."

(Robert Cobert music cue "Epitaph" plays)

Jeff said, "A dream?"

David nodded, "It's a journal, or maybe a diary of some kind. It's got a name written inside. It says, "Titus Clark". I read some of it, I'm sorry. I promise I didn't read it all, I promise. It's just that I knew I had to bring this to you."

Jeff took the book in his hand and started to open it."I...I can't. I should show this to the doc first. He'll be here tomorrow afternoon. I think...I think we should all try to get some sleep until he comes." Jeff walked out of the room and into his art gallery room and shut the door behind him.

David looked at Maggie, and she said, "Here, David, I'll sleep in the chair, and you can take the couch." David shook his head, and said, "If it's okay with you, I'd rather stay by the fireplace if you don't mind. Please?"

Maggie nodded and sat down in the chair. "Good night, David. I'm sorry about all this." David reassured her, "It's alright, Maggie."

Maggie sat down on the chair, and curled up in a fetal position under a blanket. David knelt by the fire and stared deeply into the crackling flames. The fascination of the dancing flames kept him from thinking about his injury, and the reflection of glowing embers twinkled in his eyes as he sat there the rest of the night without so much as an eye flutter.

From his back pocket, David pulled out a bronze ring with a slightly off-centered six-pointed star in the middle. The ring was about the size of a man's fist and was very heavy. David held it closely toward the fire and stared into the jeweled center which, when held in front of the fire, swirled a dark red color.

Suddenly, he heard a noise behind him and noticed that Maggie was starting to wake up. Without hesitation, David concealed the object into his back pocket.

(I do not own the rights to Dark Shadows. My fanfic is only meant for the enjoyment of readers and all Dark Shadows fans)


	4. ACT IV

ACT IV

-fade away to the outside view of the house; the night sky fades away, and the morning sun shines on the house, morning birds are singing-

In the distance, a wood-paneled station wagon made its way over the rocky, dirt road and pulled in front of the house. A thin, wiry man with thick-rimmed glasses stepped out of the car and made his way up the broken sidewalk toward the door. Maggie was standing there at the door as she heard the loud engine-ring of the approaching vehicle.

The man removed his hat and smiled warmly, "Hello, Maggie." Maggie did not return his smile, but nodded politely, "Dr Guthrie."

Dr Guthrie asked, "Is Jeff here?" Maggie nodded, staring intently at him. "He's gone back in that room again. He locked himself in last night."

Dr Guthrie's face frowned, and his voice grew grave with disappointment. "Back in the gallery? Is he still having those nightmares? I thought they had stopped."

Dr Guthrie's shoulders went back and a deep sigh of disapproval found its way through his pursed lips. "Come on then. I'll get him out."

Maggie interrupted. "Wait. Before you get him, I have to tell you something first. We...we have a visitor-a boy from Collinwood. I was his governess when I was there. We survived the...attacks...together, but he disappeared."

Dr Guthrie squinted his eyes in confusion and looked away as if trying to make some sense of this news. "A...a boy? How did he know you were here?"

Maggie couldn't answer, but she told him, "Jeff attacked him last night. He couldn't see his face. He pulled a gun and shot him...it didn't go through, it only grazed his arm, but I'm scared, Dr Guthrie. I don't feel safe here anymore."

Dr Guthrie's eyes stared deeply into hers as he asked, "Because of the boy or because of Jeff?"

Maggie hesitated for a moment and turned around, staring at a wedding picture hanging on the wall. "Because of...both. The boy, David, brought a book back with him. Why would he come all this way to bring a book? Why couldn't he just send it if he knew where we were?" A tear rolled down her cheek, and she cupped her shaking hands over her mouth. Choking back sobs so hard, her trembling voice was almost a whisper. "I just don't understand what's going on here. Jeff almost killed him last night, then he attacked David when he showed him the book. I even tried to stop him, but he threw me down on the ground.

Dr Guthrie's eyes grew large, and his face grimaced. "Threw you to the ground? Are you hurt, Maggie?" he asked, looking her up and down for any bruises. Maggie shook her head, "I'm fine, I'm fine. I just want to know what's inside that book. I just...I just get a bad feeling...like something bad is getting ready to happen." Maggie felt her eyes burning, and she embraced Dr Guthrie, sobbing uncontrollably. He somewhat returned her embrace, and rubbed her arms with his hands. "Maggie, I...I'm sorry..."

Maggie apologized, "No, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to fall apart like that." She tried to smile and compose herself. "Who wants to be welcomed by such a sad-sack woman? I just have to..."

Dr Guthrie interrupted, "Shhh, it's alright, Maggie. I know you didn't mean anything by it. I'm not going to keep you here since I can see that living here is not going well for you at all. My understanding from Jeff, the last time we spoke, was that everything was going fine. I suppose I should have known better. I'm so sorry, Maggie. Don't worry, I won't leave until we come up with a plan to get you to safety and where you feel comfortable, okay? I'm going to speak with Jeff in a moment, but where is David?" Maggie pulled some tissues that were on a stand by the door and dabbed her eyes and cheeks. "He's over by the fireplace. He said that's where he wanted to stay. He used to sit by a large fireplace at Collinwood. It's always been something he's liked to do."

Dr Guthrie smiled warmly, "Well, it sounds to me like I know why David sought you out. You sound as though you two were really close." Maggie stifled a laugh. "Well, he wasn't that close to me until..." her face washed over with great fear. "...until that...that day...then he disappeared."

Nodding and shrugging his shoulders, Dr Guthrie replied, "Well, at any rate, I think I'd like to take a look at that book. Wait with David by the fireplace, Maggie. I'm going to bring Jeff out, and see if I can shed any light on this book." With a strong sense of determination, Dr Guthrie pounded on the wooden door of the gallery that Jeff had locked himself in.

"Jeff? Jeff, open the door. I need to speak with you." He knocked again and there was no reply. "Jeff? I have a key to the door. If you don't open it, I will come in regardless. Are you going to let me come in?" Dr Guthrie paused, and he heard footsteps creaking across the old wooden floor inside the gallery. The sound of hinges creaking and grinding sounded after the click of the latch released, and Jeff's sullen face peered from behind the door. "I...I had those dreams again, Doc. This book...this book, it's...it's evil."

Jeff held the weathered black book out and handed it to Dr Guthrie, and he asked as he took the book in his hands. "What's evil about it, Jeff? What's inside it?" Jeff only shook his head. "I...I don't quite know, Doc. I couldn't open it. I only know that something evil...something powerful...gave it to me in my dream last night."

"Your dream? Jeff, I'm an expert on these kinds of phenomena, and you know what we talked about before. There is a very slim-to-none chance that these dreams you keep having are ever going to happen. Have any of them happened yet? Remember we talked about this?"

Jeff shook his head in agreement, "I know, I know, I know, Doc, but this time...this time it's different." Maggie was joined by David and they both stood back, keeping their distance from Jeff and Dr Guthrie as the volume of his voice grew louder and stern in its tone. "Jeff, you must learn to separate the fantasy from the reality. The reality is that your wife is frightened by your behavior. You attacked this boy last night and you started to attack her, too. She doesn't feel safe right now. You've got to snap out of this, Jeff. I'm not going to allow this to continue. I'm going to get this all resolved today, and I'm not leaving until we come up with something that will be better for all of you. I gave you this house so that you could feel safe and get away from the fear."

Maggie felt a responsibility to defend Jeff. "Dr Guthrie, we've been through a lot lately, and I know that Jeff is on edge like the rest of us. He would never really hurt me, Doctor. He's not a monster. Really." Jeff made eye contact with Dr Guthrie and stepped toward him, and his voice quivered with fear and uncertainty. "Can I show you, Doc? Show you all of my dream?"

Dr Guthrie nodded and walked inside the gallery. David and Maggie followed behind the two as they stepped inside. Along the floor were scattered paint stains and brushes, and some paintings of the most erratic and grotesque images. They all depicted disturbing images of Collinwood and the village nearby.

There was an image of a monster in the shape of a man with large fangs that were dripping with blood. There were images of a beautiful young girl with black hair riding a train into a pitch-dark tunnel. To his right, a canvas depicted a man struggling to breathe as he was buried alive next to a decayed female body in a white dress. When they came to the end of the room, Dr Guthrie looked on in complete shock, and Maggie quickly turned around and was horrified at Jeff's image that he had painted.

Maggie turned around with tears in her eyes, and tried to usher David back out the door. "David, why don't you come with me?" David replied and brushed her hands away. "I'm not scared anymore. I want to see."

David stepped closer to the canvas and stared at the grisly image. In it, a deformed and decrepit man was burning on the floor of what appeared to be an art gallery, and he was not alone. A beautiful blonde-haired woman was also covered in flames, and her visage was twisted into one showing great agony and torment. In the image, Jeff had painted a portrait with a black sky and two cold eyes staring at the man and woman as they burned.

David stood still and stared at the eyes. Dr Guthrie and Maggie stood there as Jeff explained his dream to them, and pointed out each detail in the portrait he painted.

Dr Guthrie looked at Jeff after he finished telling the dream to him. "Jeff, I would like to take a look at that book. Right away if you don't mind. Now, David, you said you went back to Collinwood and found this there?"

David replied respectfully. "Yes, sir. It was around this cave at the bottom of Widows Hill. I used to walk around there all the time, and I thought I would go in there and look around."

Dr Guthrie nodded. "Okay, thank you, David. Jeff, why don't you start bringing in some fire wood, and I'll start examining this and see if it's anything for you to worry about. If I find nothing, we're all going to have a long discussion about what we're going to do from this point. I'm sure there's nothing in here to validate this dream or any of these others. Will you trust me to evaluate the situation myself?"

Maggie and Jeff both nodded in agreement. "Alright, then. Jeff, go get us some firewood. Maggie and David, why don't you come into the living room while I look this over in the kitchen? I'd like to be alone for a few moments while I take a look, if you don't mind, but not until after I take a look at this young man's arm first."

"I'll be right back." Jeff told them as he walked out the door. Maggie tried to sound cheerful as she offered, "I'll get us something for breakfast. We don't have much food left, but I'll find something. David, do you want to come with me?"

David's eyes stayed glued to the portrait. "I...I'd like to stay for a moment and look at these. I'll only be a minute. Can't I stay?"

Dr Guthrie stared as Maggie pleaded, "David, please, it's not healthy for you to be here. There's nothing here but...gloom and doom, and you don't need to stay in here."

Dr Guthrie agreed. "She's right, David. Why don't you come out with us?"

David said, "I will, I promise. Just give me a moment, okay? I just want to look for a minute."

Maggie sighed. "You never listened to me at Collinwood, so why should you start now?" She shook her head and gave a half-smile, pointing her finger at David. "I'm timing you. One minute. Then I want you back out there with us."

David answered, "One minute. That's all I need." Maggie shook her head, and she and Dr Guthrie went out the door.

("The Secret Room" by Robert Cobert begins to play)

While walking around the room, David stared intently at the images around him. When he came to the newest portrait, his eyes fixed on the beautiful woman in white burning.

As David walked toward the door, he looked back at the burning woman again. His face formed an ominous and satisfied grin as he stared. As he closed the door behind him, he regained his composure and rejoined Dr Guthrie and Maggie.

((I do not own the rights to Dark Shadows. My fanfic is only meant for the enjoyment of the reader))


	5. ACT V

ACT V

(the music cue, "The Secret Room" by Robert Cobert fades as the scene also fades)

Walking into the living room, David sits by the fireplace, only soon to be joined by Dr Guthrie.

He turned to Maggie and asked, "Maggie, do you have some peroxide or an antiseptic? I will need some fresh bandages, too. I need to take a look at David's arm."

David protested. "No, it's fine. Really. I...it doesn't hurt anymore."

Dr Guthrie frowned as Maggie went into the kitchen to gather the ordered items. "Now, David, I'm not going to pay attention to this nonsense. I've got to check your arm, now give it to me." He sat on the fireplace bench and looked at David's arm. His tone never softened, but he smiled. "A boy your age will start taking girls to dances, and movies. and start holding hands with her and such. Now how do you think a girl will feel when you have an arm that has all sorts of... of creepies and...crawlies all over it, huh?"

David pulled his arm away and snapped at him. "I don't care. I want you to leave me alone."

Dr Guthrie placed his hand on David's shoulder. "Now David..."

Walking in just as Dr Guthrie's hand touched his shoulder, Maggie watched in shock as David jerked away violently. Backing up across the room with his eyes wide with fear, David warned Dr Guthrie. "Stay away from me! I don't want you to touch me!"

"David! What's wrong with you?! Why are you acting like this?" Maggie asked sternly. David only shook his head, "I...I don't want him to touch me. Please Maggie, please tell him to leave! I don't want him here anymore."

Dr Guthrie spoke first, and came to David and held out his hands to show David that he had nothing "David, I'm not going to hurt you. See? I'm your friend. I'm Maggie's and Jeff's friend, too. If they can trust me, you can too, right? I'm not hiding anything. We could've already been done by now. Now, come on, all I need to do right now is look at it, okay?" As he spoke, he stepped closer toward David in a very non-threatening manner, but David quickly backed away and retreated to the other side of the room, knocking over a lamp that was sitting on a side table. "I said NO!"

Maggie took her gauze and ointment and went toward David. "Here, I'll do it, David. Are you alright?"

David stared intently at Dr Guthrie while Maggie took David's arm. She took David's arm and began cleaning and dressing it while Dr Guthrie began picking up pieces of the broken lamp. Maggie broke the awkward silence. "Doctor, he's just edgy. He's been through a lot. I'm sure David will see that you're no one to be so frightened of." She turned to David. "Dr Guthrie is our friend, David. He's been very good to Jeff and me. He won't hurt you, I promise, okay?"

David never looked at or acknowledged Maggie speaking to him because he caught sight of something on Dr Guthrie's hand-a very peculiar ring. The ring was made of silver and had a solid black stone set inside of it. The shape of it was unique in that it was a large oval-shaped stone. David couldn't contain his curiosity. "What is that? Where did you get that?"

Bent over and picking up broken pieces of the cracked lamp, Dr Guthrie stood to his feet and looked in the direction that David was staring. "This? You mean this ring? Oh, this is something that I've had since I began my paranormal studies. It's a ring made of pure silver, and the stone inside is called a black jet stone."

Maggie finished bandaging David's arm, and she turned and gazed at the ring. Speaking softly to ease the tension, Maggie asked. "A jet stone? I don't think I've ever heard of that. What kind of stone is it?"

Dr Guthrie gave a half smile, but kept his distance so that he wouldn't frighten David. "Well, it's said to have a supernatural element. According to sources I've studied over the years, many ancients believed it to be a stone that absorbed negative energy. I believe that many spirits that manifest themselves in our realm carry with them a tremendous amount of energy with them, namely more to the negative margin. Much of it caused by their own unrest. They're always seeking to reconnect with their former life in some way. The greater the longing, the more that energy grows much more powerful in time, and their presence becomes more evident in proportion to that energy. The ancients believed this particular type of stone absorbed and dissolved that energy that evil manifestations carried with them when they returned. Their energy would be absorbed and vanish once exposed to it in close proximity, and their spirits would simply disappear into nothingness."

He continued, "I believe that this stone is vital for protection. There are some entities that have amassed so much energy and power that...well, they had the abilities to take over another human being and control them, almost like a possession. There have been some that..."

Maggie quickly interrupted, her voice weak and unsteady.. "May we please discuss something else? I don't want to talk about it anymore." Filled with fear, her eyes turned away and stared out the window. Dr Guthrie's tone was grave and apologetic as he looked down on the floor beneath him. "I'm...I'm sorry, Maggie...I just, sometimes I just ramble on about...well, nothing. It's not important. I'll, um...I'll get this cleaned up and take a look at that book."

Maggie didn't reply. She only held on tightly to David and kept her focus at the window.

(a musical interlude ensues, and Robert Cobert's "Opening theme from 'Night of Dark Shadows' begins playing very softly. The camera zooms slowly on Maggie's eyes, and a fade to outside the house begins. The volume escalates as the screen begins to fade)

(as the fade recedes and the music continues, the sun shines across the screen, and Jeff is seen outside by the piles of firewood he made. Pausing in deep reflection, he looks at the bright glow of sunlight over the horizon. With a deep breath, he places the axehead on the ground and leans on the handle. The cold autumn wind blows, and the trees behind Jeff begin swaying as falling leaves fly across the house behind him.)

(with the theme music playing at peak volume, a thin border of white mist forms around the screen as Jeff's mind flashes back to his own past. He sees himself painting beautiful portraits that he had done, and Maggie holding onto him tightly while admiring his work. He remembers happy moments at Collinwood when every one was laughing and life was good. He thinks of the moment he proposed to Maggie at the rose garden on the Collinwood estate, and the happiness they felt when he placed the ring on her finger. He reflects on the joyful warmth of bliss they felt as they embraced after she accepted his proposal.)

(the white border recedes, and the scene returns to Jeff staring in contemplation towards the sunlight. He turns around as the music begins to end and fade, and he sees Maggie staring at him outside their front door on their small wooden porch. She looks away as their eyes meet. She hangs her head in sorrow and goes back into the house and shuts the door. Jeff looks down and frowns. He gathers the firewood he has cut and carries it to the door.)

Upon entering the house, Jeff solemnly carries the firewood inside and places it inside the fireplace. David walks past Jeff without saying a word and walks toward the front door.

"David, where are you going? You shouldn't go outside.", Jeff warned. David looked back, "But I want to look at the moon."

Puzzled, Jeff stared at David. "The moon? David, it's early afternoon. The sun is still out."

David protested. "I know, but this time of year you can see the moon early during the day, and there's supposed to be a full moon tonight. I just want to see it. I won't go anywhere, I promise."

Maggie walked into the room. "Go ahead, David. Just stay close to the house, okay?" David nodded in agreement and walked out the door. Maggie stood with her arms folded, but she trembled, obviously uncomfortable to be left alone with Jeff.

Jeff tried to ease the tension between them by saying her name softly and by putting both of his arms around her. Maggie pulled away and walked across the room while Jeff stood there watching her walking away from him. With a deep sigh, Jeff gazed at the floor.

"Maggie, I...I know it may not mean much to you, but I'm really sorry for the things I did. I would never hurt you. You've known me for a lot of years, and I've never done anything to hurt you." Maggie kept her back turned to him and her arms folded.

(Though her back is turned to Jeff, Maggie's face and eyes are visible to the camera. Her chin is quivering, and her eyes shut tight. Tears roll down both of her cheeks)

"Jeff, I don't...I don't feel like I know you anymore. I don't even feel like I know myself anymore. We can never be the same or go back to the way we were...and there's something that I've been wanting to tell y-...", she paused.

Jeff walked toward Maggie and faced her, but she turned away again, determined not to allow Jeff to see her crying. "What, Maggie?"

Maggie hesitated, closed her eyes, and shook her head. "...Nothing. I don't want to discuss anything anymore." Regaining her composure, she turned around and faced him.

Jeff shook his head, exhaling slowly, his voice despondent. "Alright, Maggie. I won't say anything else, then." He walked across the floor and turned around, asking, "Where's Dr Guthrie?"

With her voice becoming more steady, she told Jeff and pointed, "In the kitchen. He's looking at that book that David brought."

Jeff asked her, "How long has he been in there?"

Maggie answered, "About thirty minutes. David and I have just been staying in here."

Hearing the door slam, both Maggie and Jeff turned quickly to face David who had just entered the house again, smiling. "I was right. You can see the full moon in the sky. Would you like to see it?"

"There isn't time, David." Dr Guthrie said as he walked out of the kitchen.

((Robert Cobert's music, "A Darkness at Collinwood" begins to play))

Jeff and Maggie both turned toward the doctor, staring at his unusually pale complexion. Jeff asked first, "Doc, what's the matter?" Jeff pointed at the diary that Dr Guthrie was gripping tightly in his hand. "Is it something in that book?"

His face pale and his tone chilling and grim, Dr Guthrie took a deep breath as he looked at both Jeff and Maggie. "We...we have to go back to Collinwood. We have to leave right now."

((I do not own the rights to DARK SHADOWS. My fanfic is intended only for the enjoyment of the reader)


	6. ACT VI

**A-N: This chapter has a brief summary of Titus Clark's journal, detailing the events prior to both films and tying them together. If you would like to read the entire remnants of the journal, see previous three-chapter story, "Dark Shadows: The Diary of Titus Clark". Also, all music cues written in all chapters are available for listen on youtube**

ACT VI

Maggie cupped her hands over her mouth, and her eyes widened as she shook her head. Jeff's eyes squinted in disbelief as he stared down Dr Guthrie. "Doc, what is this? Some kind of trick? Why do we have to go back?!"

Dr Guthrie sighed heavily, "Jeff, there isn't time to explain...I can't expect you to come with me, but...I can't go alone to do what needs to be done. This is all just so...so urgent. It's a matter of life and death. You and Maggie will never be safe again if I don't go. Not here, not anywhere."

"Wait a minute! Now I think it's time you start explaining things before you go on any further!" Jeff demanded. Shaking his head, Dr Guthrie objected, "Jeff, please, I...there isn't enough time. Every moment we stand here arguing, time is running out."

Maggie placed her hand on David's shoulder, and stood beside Jeff. She didn't shout, but her tone was certain. "We're staying right here. We're not going back there. You promised we'd never have to. I won't go! I won't!" Maggie turned and started to go upstairs. Dr Guthrie called to her, "Maggie...please...I'll, I'll try to hurry and explain it all the best I can. Come with me into the living room. This won't take long. Just hear me out, and I will let you decide what you wish to do."

Maggie stood still, and Jeff went to the staircase, placing his arms around her. "Maggie? Honey, let's...let's go in there." Her voice reduced to a whisper, Maggie's words were broken with thick sobs. "No...I...don't...care...what he...he...says...we...c-can't...go...we...can't..."

Jeff held her close and quietly rocked her from side to side, pressing his cheek against hers. "It's okay, we don't have to go back. Let's just listen to him, okay? We can do that. That's all we have to do. Just listen." Jeff kept his arms around her, and he walked her into the living room to a chair. David was already standing there, looking puzzled. Maggie sat beside Jeff, her face leaned against his shoulder. Her hands were gripped tightly around a pillow as Jeff had one arm around her and the other on his knee.

"I'm terribly sorry to have upset you all like this. You know if anyone has wanted to protect you all this time, it's been me. But what's in this diary...didn't arrive to us by coincidence." Dr Guthrie turned to David and asked, "David, you said it was a dream that led you here?"

David nodded. "Yes, I dreamed about it, but I never opened it. I...don't really remember the dream, but I remember knowing that I had to come here."

Staring at David in bewilderment, then looking down at the book, Dr Guthrie began to explain. "This book is a journal of a man I believe to be one of many disciples that belonged to a coven of witches who followed a powerful warlock named Judah Zachary. This book was written by a young man who called himself Judah's beloved disciple. He shares the last name as you, Jeff. Do you recall ever doing any type of research on your family tree and coming across a man named Titus? This was written at the end of the eighteenth century to the beginning of the nineteenth."

Jeff looked down in thought, then looked up at Dr Guthrie. "I did something in school a long time ago, but I only went back to my great grandfather. He was born about a hundred years ago, but he died before he was forty. I never bothered to track any further or any of my aunts or uncles. Why? Do you think he was one of my ancestors, Doc?"

Dr Guthrie nodded, "It's quite possible. Maybe that's what led David here to you, but that's not important right now. I've read about this warlock, Judah Zachary, during my time at the university. He was a very powerful occult leader, and rumored to have been a master of black magic and witchcraft. Many believed him to be the Biblically-prophesied Antichrist. From what I remember, so did he. He was infamous for his witchcraft, murder, and pagan rituals. The fragments of this diary document the last accounts of Judah's life before he was convicted and beheaded for witchcraft in 1797."

He continued, "According to this, Joshua Collins was the head of the tribunal that convicted Judah. As an act of revenge, his followers cast a spell that night that he was convicted and sentenced. They convened in their hidden sanctuary below Widows Hill and summoned a familiar to bring a curse upon Joshua's firstborn son...Barnabas Collins."

Maggie gasped, and her hands cupped over her mouth. She exclaimed, "Barnabas? Barnabas?!"

Jeff held her tight, trying to calm her. "Shhhh...it's okay, Maggie." Maggie ignored Jeff and leaned up in her chair. "Did this man...he put the curse on Barnabas? He did this?"

Dr Guthrie responded, "Maggie, he was one of many. Judah had a close group he called his disciples, much like these cult leaders you see these days, only they practiced real acts of witchcraft. The night that Judah died, his followers stole his body from the church that it was being held in. They were going to anoint his body with holy water before cremating his remains, as they felt that this was the only way to keep a warlock from returning. They kept his body in its coffin, and placed a ritual mask on his face. It was a mask that was supposed to have once belonged to Lucifer himself-the Mask of Baal. It would keep the wearer's body from natural decay, perfectly preserving it to be ageless and verile for all time."

Opening the tattered book toward the end, Dr Guthrie explained as he glanced at the pages. "This book tells of one of Judah's followers that married into the Collins family- a beautiful blonde-haired woman named Angelique. She was once Judah's mistress while he was alive. The disciples of Judah awaited his prophesied resurrection, and Angelique secretly married into the Collins family to tear the family apart and prepare the house for Judah's triumphant return. That day never came, however, as she fell in love with her husband Gabriel's brother, Charles Collins. Soon after their affair was exposed, she was put to death as a witch there on the grounds of Collinwood. Her lover, Charles, was buried alive in her crypt after she was interred below the house."

Jeff interrupted, "Wait, did you say a...a blonde woman, Doc? She could have been the woman I saw burning in my dream! That...that old man! He could have been Charles Collins! I knew they meant something!" Jeff stood and began pacing, talking aloud to himself. "Those eyes I saw...those eyes in the portrait-they were black eyes. Very evil, very powerful. Judah...Judah Zachary's?" (*)

Dr Guthrie sighed and shook his head. "That's right, Jeff. I'm sure that what you saw was a vision of Judah taking his revenge for Angelique's unfaithfulness. Now there was an incident involving another member of the Collins family that lived there after I brought you here. A young man named Quentin and his new wife, Tracy. It was said that a a beautiful woman in white haunted that house, trying to bring back herself and her lover. The locals said that Quentin went mad there and murdered his wife. Anytime that someone went inside to see, no trace of anyone could be found."

Jeff stood in front of Dr Guthrie. "Judah knows...Judah knows what happened. I bet he's going to destroy them."

David interrupted. "Maybe he already has."

Maggie, Jeff, and Dr Guthrie all stared at David, then Dr Guthrie spoke. "If that's true, David, the situation is much worse than I feared."

Puzzled, Jeff asked, "What do you mean? How can this be worse?"

Dr Guthrie replied, "In the last pages, the disciple Titus Clark told of his final spell that he was casting in his dying moment. For years, he kept and guarded Judah's body, waiting each day for his master to return as he had promised."

Dr Guthrie held the book open, "Titus describes a fever that he had been afflicted with. Some kind of terminal malady. Quite possibly malaria, small pox, or something like that. Anyway, he sacrificed his own life force to resurrect Judah Zachary. He knew alone that his power was not enough to summon him back, so he used numerology as an incantation to cast his spell."

Maggie looked up, her cheeks were red and her skin nearly raw from crying, "Numerology? What do you mean? I don't understand."

Dr Guthrie looked at her, and removed his glasses and wiped the perspiration from his brow, then put them back on. "Sometimes witches and warlocks would use numbers as a means to enhance the casting of their spells. They believed that numbers carried with them a special key that unlocked secret powers of black magic. In this, Titus Clark uses the number nine as his incantation. The ninth digit is supposed to be a number of influence that increases control and power of a cast spell exponentially. Also, he mentioned the premise of the powers that the full moon of Samhain carries with it."

Dr Guthrie began pacing nervously as he concluded the details, "All falsehoods and legends aside, a full moon of Samhain is rumored to open a gate between the natural world and the supernatural. Those whose energies are powerful enough such as demons, evil and restless spirits, even mourning and weeping spirits try to pass through this void, hoping to manifest themselves in some way or form. The Samhain holiday was a bloody and ritualistic event that was marked by human and animal sacrifices by many cults such as Judah Zachary's, as they summoned many demons and evil spirits into this world to help them achieve greater powers."

David's eyes were glowing in fascination as Dr Guthrie told the story with such assurance and urgency. "Every nineteen years, the full moon of Samhain shines on the earth. Titus cast his spell in such a way that no mistake could be made in resurrecting Judah Zachary at full power. Using the ninth digit as a means of power and control, his spell was that Judah would arise on the ninth full moon of Samhain after his death. By that reckoning, this year, 1974, is the year of that phenomenon. The holiday of Samhain lasts from the eve of the last day of October until the dawn of the first day of November."

Jeff stared in disbelief and shock. "Tonight?"

Dr Guthrie repeated him. "Yes, tonight. The moon has already begun to rise, and this time of year, the sun sets much earlier. According to Titus' own words, he buried Judah's coffin on the grounds of Collinwood before casting his spell so that Judah could claim the house of the one who convicted him as his own. I believe with all of my heart that Judah's body is still buried in the earth below Collinwood, and his body is perfectly preserved with this Mask of Baal. That is why we must hurry to Collinwood now. If we leave now, it will be early evening, and maybe we can stop him from returning before the darkness of night covers Collinwood, leaving the gate wide open for Judah's spirit to be reunited with his body. His powers were recorded as the most evil and vicious in history, and his crimes of murder and witchcraft were among the most horrendous ever written in history. God only knows what powers he could bring with him if he returned."

David asked, "What are you planning to do?"

Dr Guthrie answered, "My plan is to find Judah's body, anoint it with holy water, and burn it to ashes-just like it was supposed to have been done many years ago. As you can imagine, time is of the essence and a luxury we don't have. That's why I need someone to come with me to help me search for, exhume, and burn the body. I'm afraid that, with my best efforts, I wouldn't be able to do it all before the full moon rises."

David quickly volunteered. "I'll go with you, Doctor."

Maggie shook her head, and objected. "No, David! It's too dangerous for you. You're staying right here until he comes back."

David fervently stood his ground. "Maggie, you can't make me stay. I'm grown now. I'm not a little kid anymore. I have to go with him. I won't stay here and let this happen to us. I want to help, and I'm going to."

Maggie pleaded with Dr Guthrie, "Surely you can't take him, Dr Guthrie! He's only a boy! Please tell him he has to stay here where it's safe. This isn't his burden to bear!"

Dr Guthrie tucked the book in his inside pocket, and put his hand on David's shoulder. "I'll leave you both to discuss what you want to do. I am going to be outside gathering supplies from the back of the car. I'll give you five minutes to discuss what you are going to do, then I will have no choice but to go with you or alone. Please don't misunderstand me, I'm not forcing you to agree, and it's perfectly understandable if you don't. I have no hard feelings if you refuse, and this will in no way affect my caring for you both and doing all I can to protect you. Now, if you'll excuse me, we have to start getting ready to go."

As the two walked out the door, Jeff looked at Maggie, who was staring at the wall where a porcelain crucifix was neatly fixed. Jeff mentioned Maggie's name, but she didn't answer. She only stared at the man hanging on the cross.

Jeff stood in silence, and then Maggie turned away from the cross, staring deeply into Jeff's eyes. They knew they had to make a decision, and neither choice would be easy. Raw were the emotional wounds and scars that they still carried from their ordeal four years ago. Seconds felt like hours as they stood there in awkward silence as the memories and terror suddenly re-surfaced all at once.

Maggie broke the silence and went to the front door. There David sat in the front passenger seat of the station wagon, and Dr Guthrie was arranging items in the back of the vehicle . "Doctor, wait. The book mentioned Barnabas Collins and the curse that was put on him. Did it say that the curse could end, and that he could be stopped?"

Quickly following behind her, Jeff interrupted. "Maggie, I killed him! There's no possible way that..."

Maggie's voice clamored above his. "Jeff, please!" She turned to Dr Guthrie. "I want...I need to hear it from you, Doctor. Did we kill..." she paused, terrified to speak his name. "...Barnabas Collins?"

Dr Guthrie's face grew careworn and pale, and he sighed with deep heaviness. "I...I can't say for sure, but, according to the journal, there was only one way to break the curse of Barnabas. Our only hope is that, if he is still existing at night, we make it to Collinwood before the sun sets. Either way, each second we waste is precious time. If we can't accomplish the ritual before the sun sets and the full moon rises, vampire or not, we are all as good as dead."

(I do not own the rights to Dark Shadows. My fanfic is only meant for the enjoyment of the reader)

(*) See chapter 1 for Jeff's dream.


	7. ACT VII

ACT VII

-music cue "The Secret Room" by Robert Cobert-

Maggie held tightly onto Jeff, and he pulled her close to him. They stared deeply into each other's eyes without saying a word. Maggie's eyes were pleading to stay. Jeff's eyes reflected how frightened he was, and how he wanted to stay where they both felt was safe.

As they stared at each other for a moment in silence, the realization of what had to be done set in. As they embrace one last time, Jeff's left arm wrapped around Maggie's shoulder, and her right arm slid around his waist. They grasped each other's free hands tightly, turning and walking slowly down the creaky wooden porch steps toward the vehicle.

Surprised by their sudden strength and resolve that they found in each other, Dr Guthrie held the back door open for them to sit inside the station wagon. David was sitting in the front passenger seat, and stared at Maggie and Jeff as they sat down, neither of them saying a word. They held onto each other exactly the way they had come down the steps-one arm around each other, their hands tightly interlocked.

With a loud ring of the engine, the vehicle sputtered to life. Maggie and Jeff watched their safe house growing smaller and smaller as the station wagon rocked them from side-to-side over the dirt road. Dr Guthrie adjusted the ring on his hand before it went towards the gear shift, and David began to back up against the door as if suddenly he had been frightened.

Dr Guthrie glanced over at the boy, puzzled by his sudden strange behavior.

"David, what's wrong with you? Are you alright?" he asked.

David said, "I...I feel really weak. I'm going to sit back there with them."

Dr Guthrie sighed, "David, there's no time to stop. We're running behind as it..."

David raised his voice. "I said I don't like sitting up here with you! I want to be back there with them."

Dr Guthrie was in no mood to argue, as he had enough weighing on his mind. He leaned his head back toward Jeff and Maggie and asked, "Do you all mind?"

Maggie, who was sitting on the passenger side, told David to come and sit beside her. Dr Guthrie pulled off and waited for David to find the door handle and get out. She opened her door from the inside, and David sat beside her. His face was pale, and he felt very weak.

"Are you okay, David? What's wrong?" Jeff asked as the vehicle shifted back onto the road.

"I just...I just feel better being back here with you...and away from him." he replied in a melancholy tone, looking down at the floor. Maggie let go of Jeff's hand and put her arm around David, pulling him close to her. All three in the back seat held on tightly to each other, and Dr Guthrie sighed as his eyes focused on the road, his mind deeply in thought.

-no audio is heard as the music cue "Opening Theme: Night of Dark Shadows" by Robert Cobert begins to play-

(sequences of overhead views of the station wagon driving on the road, and the sun reflects on top of the vehicle. The time of day is early evening, and the sun looms overhead as it begins moving downward toward the horizon.)

(As the music plays, Dr Guthrie's face is solemn, and his facial features show that he is fully concentrated and filled with confidence and determination. The camera pans back to Jeff as he looks out the window and sees a fork in the road. Overhead, a direction sign leading them toward the town of Collinsport can be seen. Jeff's eyes avert toward Maggie, who is staring at the horizon. Maggie leans as closely to the window as she can, and she and David look out at the horizon as the sun barely hangs over the horizon)

-The music volume peaks at this moment-

(a closeup is shown of Maggie staring out the window, her eyes filled with fear and hopelessness as she stares toward the horizon. She closes her eyes, and a tear streams slowly down her cheek, and she lowers her head)

-music begins to fade, as does the soft-fading sequences of driving shots-

(from the view of the backseat, we see they are driving on a straight stretch surrounded by trees on both sides on the same road where Jeff found Daphne Budd's body, the first victim of Barnabas Collins four years ago)

Suddenly, Dr Guthrie's eyes widened as he swerved to the left to dodge a tall, stocky-framed man that lunges toward the car. The man was flailing his arms and running toward the station wagon as it screeched to a sudden stop only inches away from a ditch. Maggie screamed as the man ran toward them. Dr Guthrie reached inside the glove box and removed a handgun. As soon as the door opened, the pistol was pointed at the large man, and Dr Guthrie pulled back the hammer. "Wait! Don't come any closer. I don't want to use..."

The young man's eyes were rabid, and his breathing was rapid and panicked. His arms went straight into the air. "Mister, I'm no trouble. Please, you can't go any further. Somethin' evil is in that house! I...I can't let you go any closer. An evil force has taken over that big house!"

Dr Guthrie sensed that, despite his initial impression, this man meant no harm. As he lowered his handgun, he walked toward this stranger. The stranger stood taller than six feet and had short dark hair. His voice was very deep, and his overalls were stained with mud and dirt.

"Just calm down, sir, calm down. What's your name?" asked Dr Guthrie as he placed his hand on the man's shoulder, trying to calm him down. The man only stared at Dr Guthrie, almost as if he could snap at any moment. Jeff began to open the door, but Dr Guthrie held his hand back, motioning for Jeff to get back inside.

He hesitated, but after Jeff sat back inside and shut the door, the stranger's posture relaxed. Turning toward Dr Guthrie, he spoke, "My name is Adam. I've been the groundskeeper for the Collins estate for three years. I...I've seen and heard many things at that house, but the spirits there don't bother me none. I just go 'bout my business, and just stay away when they want me to...but last night..."

His face and posture grew tight with tension.

Dr Guthrie, not wanting to waste time nor provoke Adam to hostility, tried to put him at ease, but still get to the heart of the matter. "Adam, please. I'm a doctor, and I'm an expert on paranormal phenomena. I'm on my way to Collinwood to prevent a disaster from happening. I believe you, and I know something isn't right there. I am on my way there to stop it. Please, you must tell me what you saw. Anything at all could be very helpful."

Adam stared down at Dr Guthrie and moved toward him. Trying to not back away and show fear, he stood in place while Adam now was standing toe-to-toe with him. "Fire...I saw a fire in the tower! I heard a woman scream! There was fire burnin' all through the gallery. I dropped what I was doin' and ran inside, but I never saw nothin'. I opened the gallery door, and there was no fire, but...these eyes...these eyes were staring at me." Adam's fingers gripped his hair, and he stepped back. "Eyes in the portrait...evil, black eyes...they were starin' at me. I ran downstairs, and I ain't goin' back! I been runnin' ever since!"

Dr Guthrie felt a knot in his stomach, and he looked at Jeff, Maggie, and David. "It's already happened...the dream was real. I've got to go there immediately."

Dr Guthrie turned away to jump back inside, but Adam grabbed his arm, and his eyes and tone were fierce and commanding. "NO! You can't go there! Mister, you'll all die!I won't let you go, I can't let you!"

"Let go of me, Adam. I appreciate what you're trying to do, but we have to go!" Dr Guthrie shouted as he broke loose. Adam pulled a box knife from his pocket, and the blade extended.

"No! I won't let..." he paused, and looked at David through the window. "Wait! You're that kid I saw at the house last night! You ran away! What were you doing there?! Who are you?! I told you that you couldn't get away from me!"

-music cue "The Chase" by Robert Cobert-

Maggie screamed as Adam pulled the handle furiously and tried to open the locked door. As Dr Guthrie climbed in and started the motor, he pressed the gas all the way to the floor. The tires screeched as the station wagon backed out of the ditch, and the sudden force of the vehicle knocked Adam down to the ground. With the grinding sound of the gears being shifted, the vehicle quickly sped off, shaking and rocking as Dr Guthrie swerved to dodge fallen tree branches that were scattered across the road.

Adam held his side, and began to run after them, but he quickly realized that all hope of catching them was lost. David, Maggie, and Jeff watched Adam screaming and staring at them as they continued forward.

Dr Guthrie kept his eyes on the road, and his foot never let off of the gas pedal. Knowing that his old station wagon was being pushed to its limits, he continued forward. There was no time to waste.

Up ahead, the gates of Collinwood could be seen, and Dr Guthrie pressed the gas even harder. "Hang on! Everybody hold tight!"

-music cue hits peak volume-

Maggie screamed and Jeff reached across Maggie to hold onto her as they braced for the impact. Dr Guthrie's knuckles turned white as he gripped the steering wheel and pushed back against his seat. With a loud crash, the gates of Collinwood flew open from the force of the vehicle, and the station wagon spun out of control onto the grounds.

Dr Guthrie fought to regain control of the wheel, and everyone inside was screaming out. With repeated sputtering, the overworked engine stalled and died as the vehicle rolled forward onto the grounds.

-music fades and stops-

With smoke pouring out from under the hood, the station wagon came to a complete stop. Dr Guthrie, Maggie, Jeff, and David quickly opened the doors and jumped out. They stood facing the vehicle and looked at the damage. "Well, Doc, it looks like you've managed to sabotage our only way outta this God-forsaken place! What were you thinking?!", Jeff shouted.

Dr Guthrie quickly fired back. "We don't have time to argue. I saw the gates were locked, and there was no way to open them. Why, did you have a key, Jeff?"

Jeff's eyes burned with anger, and his face grew red and thick with perspiration. He looked away toward the house. "Now we have to walk the rest of the way!"

"Exactly. We would've had to had I not done that. That was our only hope to try to get in without having to walk, so I had to make a decision. I'm sorry there was no time to discuss it and debate it with you, Jeff, but I did what I had to do." Dr Guthrie retorted.

Maggie held onto David, and pleaded with the two men. "Please, do you have to fight? We don't have much time left before the sun sets. What are we going to do?"

The four of them turned around, and the sun was nearly resting on the horizon.

"There's nothing we can do but hurry. Jeff, let's grab the two bags inside the back. We have less than thirty minutes before the sun is completely gone, and the full moon of Samhain will rise. I've got all of the necessary tools we'll need. Help me get them, and we'll start walking as quickly as we can to the house."

As the men walked around to the back of the station wagon, Maggie stared at Collinwood in the distance, and her fists clenched over her mouth. Taking a deep breath, she looked at David, "Are you okay, David?"

David nodded, but his eyes never broke away from staring in awe of the great house.

-music cue "A Darkness at Collinwood" by Robert Cobert-

(the scene fades, and a closeup of Collinwood is seen. The camera zooms out slowly to the hill in front of the house, where only the silhouettes of the four of them standing are visible. They are standing on the exact spot that Barnabas stood in HOUSE OF DARK SHADOWS before walking toward Collinwood)

(They pause and stare for a moment, then begin walking toward the mansion)

**I do not own the rights to DARK SHADOWS. My fanfic is meant for the enjoyment of the reader**


	8. ACT VIII

ACT VIII

-as Dr Guthrie, Maggie, Jeff, and David approach the door, the music "A Darkness at Collinwood" is still playing-

Dust and cobwebs covered the entrance of Collinwood, and the odor of mold and dust seeped through the cracks around the door and windows.

Dr Guthrie was at the door first, and he turned to see if everyone had caught up with him. Before trying the door, he looked at David, Jeff, and Maggie. "We don't know what's in here, only that we have less than half an hour to find Judah's body and destroy it. The journal mentioned something about his body being buried by the bushes somewhere outside the house, so wait here for me. I'm going to check it out and see if there are any signs of anything before we go in. I'll only be a moment."

Dr Guthrie pulled his pistol from his long coat pocket. "Jeff, here. Keep David and Maggie covered while I look around the house. I'll be right back. I'll come back the way I came, so you'll know that it's me, alright?" Jeff nodded.

As Jeff loaded the gun and began looking around, David asked. "Can't we just go in? Why do we have to wait out here since we're in such a hurry?"

Jeff quickly hushed him. "No, David. Doc knows what he's doing. You don't know what's in there. Hopefully, we...we won't have to go inside. If we can find the body and destroy it without going in there, then the better off we'll all be."

"But I want to go in." David sighed. "I just want to see inside."

Maggie pleaded with him. "David, please? Not now."

David shrugged his shoulders. He looked up at the sky and noticed the tint of the sky had darkened quickly since they stood on the hill in front of the mansion.

(music fades as the scene cuts away, and Dr Guthrie is at the back of the house, looking around the bushes. He pauses, and the camera zooms in on his face as he stares down)

-music cue "Night of the Pentagram" by Robert Cobert plays suddenly-

There at the back of the house was a hole about six feet deep and wide. Dr Guthrie stared inside of it for any clue as to what was once there. With the icy sting of the wind howling against his face, Dr Guthrie turned to run back around the house. The leaves crunched beneath his feet as he passed across the grounds.

Hearing the rapid rustling of leaves, Jeff raised the gun. Maggie gripped his arm, and David stared into the direction of the sounds of someone quickly approaching.

"Jeff! It's me!" Dr Guthrie shouted as he came around the corner. "The body...it's gone! If Judah was buried there, he's got to be inside the house! We're going to have to go in."

-music stops-

"Wait, Doc! What did you see back..."

Before Jeff could finish his sentence, Dr Guthrie interrupted him. "There's a hole in the ground where your ancestor must have buried him, Jeff. Judah is here...I can feel it." Dr Guthrie looked back at them.

Suddenly, without any warning, the door to the mansion opened in front of them.

Maggie held tightly to Jeff, and David's eyes grew wide in disbelief.

Dr Guthrie stood in front of the door and faced the three. His voice was absolute in its tone. "No turning back now, and nobody goes their own way. We have to stay together. I don't know what's in there, but I know that if we split up, we have no chance of leaving this place alive. Come on, and just...stay close to me."

-music has stopped, all is silent-

The four of them stepped inside, and Maggie held on tightly to Jeff's arm. David walked ahead of them a few steps, seeming more curious than afraid. The four of them walked past the organ and down the hallway toward the set of stairs that lead to the upper levels of Collinwood.

(an overhead view of the stairway is shown, and the four of them stare up toward the top as they walk to the bottom set of stairs)

"Doc, this is the set of stairs from my dream. All the way up there...that was where I saw that woman in white. That must have been the witch, Angelique. She went into that room at the top of the stairs." Jeff reminded them.

"Then that's where we should go. We have to go there." David said. As he spoke, he started up the stairs alone.

"David, stop! You've got to wait for us. We have to stay together, you hear me?" Dr Guthrie scolded him.

"But we don't have time to be careful! The sun is almost gone!" David retorted.

They paused for a moment, but Maggie broke the silence.

"Let's just hurry so we can get out of here. Please? I don't want to be here anymore." Maggie said as she started up the stairs and stood beside David. Saying nothing, Jeff and Dr Guthrie followed them up the stairs.

When they reached the second floor, they stopped in their tracks and looked at each other in fear and bewilderment. The house was suddenly filled with the sound of a piano playing from downstairs.

-music cue "Memories of a Lifetime" by Robert Cobert plays and echoes throughout the house-

"What's that?!" Dr Guthrie whispered as he turned toward the stairs, startled.

Jeff answered. "Did someone follow us here? Do you think it's Judah, or maybe...Barn-?"

Maggie quickly interrupted the name. "No, it's not him. That's impossible. Don't say his name, Jeff!"

Dr Guthrie shook his head. "Sshhh!...I don't know what or who it is. Should we go check it? What if this is something else? Maybe a...a spirit of some sort?"

Maggie looked up at the gallery. "But the dream...Judah was up there, and that's where we should go so we can get this overwith and leave."

After a few seconds of silent indecision, Jeff whispered. "I'll go. I'll just take a quick look, and come right back. Keep going up, and I'll join you in just a minute."

"No, we have to stay together, Jeff. You can't go by yourself! You don't know who or what's down there!" Maggie protested.

Dr Guthrie sighed. "No, Maggie. We're on borrowed time as it is and have only moments left." He shook his head in disapproval. "So much for our plan of staying together. Come right back, Jeff. We'll wait for you at the top of the stairs."

Setting the load he was carrying down on the ground, Jeff opened the bag and grabbed a flashlight. From his coat pocket, he pulled out Dr Guthrie's handgun that he had been holding. "Take this. I'm only going to be gone for a second. Protect Maggie and David, Doc. I'll be right back."

Maggie reached for Jeff as he turned to go back, but Dr Guthrie held her back and whispered to her. "Let him go, Maggie. He'll be right back. It's going to be okay. Come on, I'll help you up the stairs."

Cupping her hands over her mouth, Maggie buried her face in her hands. Dr Guthrie placed his arms around her and helped move her forward up the stairs. "It's alright, Maggie. He'll be right back."

(camera cuts away to Jeff going down the last set of stairs)

After Jeff reached the bottom of the stairs and the end of the hallway, the piano playing stopped.

Jeff walked toward the grand piano near the entrance, and he saw an oval-shaped gold ring with a black stone set inside of it. His eyes grew wide with fear, and his face was covered in perspiration. He knew this ring. There was only one like it, and he knew whom it belonged to.

From the basement corridor, Jeff was startled by the sound of a woman crying. He shined his flashlight in the direction but saw nothing. The door to the basement level of the great house was open, and the crying was coming from within. Rather than turning back, Jeff wondered who was there. "Is it a spirit? Is there someone else in this house?"

Jeff crept slowly down the stairs leading to the lower levels, but the darkness made his flashlight seem almost useless. The crying and wailing grew louder as Jeff walked down the stairs. When he reached the halfway point of the creaking staircase, the door slammed shut behind him, and he dropped his flashlight as he turned around, leaving him in complete darkness. He fell down the remaing stairs, hitting his head on the ground, leaving him unconscious. His flashlight was broken from the impact, and he lay there alone in the pitch black of the lower levels of the great house.

(camera cuts back to the stairway where the three of them are standing)

David, Dr Guthrie, and Maggie reached the last set of stairs, but Maggie walked ahead of them to look out the window. Only the top of the sun was barely visible, and the moon was covered in clouds.

-music cue, "Night of the Pentagram" by Robert Cobert plays-

With a sudden crash, the chandelier hanging above the stairwells gave way with a loud rattling of glass breaking and debris falling. Much of the ceiling hanging above them fell with it. The impact forced David and Dr Guthrie to fall backwards, and Maggie stood on the other side of it.

The pile of debris stood high in front of them. It was too heavy to move and impossible to simply climb over. Dazed from their fall, David and Dr Guthrie stood back and noticed that Maggie was gone from where she stood and was out of sight.

Dr Guthrie repeatedly called out to Maggie, but there was no answer.

(Camera cuts to Maggie standing in front of the gallery door as Dr Guthrie is calling out to her. Her eyes and face show a blank expression, indicating that she is under some kind of hypnotism as she steps to the front of the gallery door)

The gallery door opened on its own and, as Maggie walked inside, it shut behind her.

**I do not own the rights to DARK SHADOWS. My fanfic is meant only for the enjoyment of the reader**


	9. ACT IX

ACT IX

/A/N- This chapter includes reflecting back on a scene throughout each chapter of this story, but if you've been away and you're catching up, chapter 5 is a good summary to recall most events. As always, all music cues are easily available for listen via YouTube/

(the camera pans in on Jeff's face as he lies on the ground unconscious. The kaleidoscope effect ensues, and white mist forms around the borders of the screen, indicating he is entering a dream sequence)

-music cue: the beginning of "Meditations" by Robert Cobert loops during the dream sequence-

Jeff slowly opened his eyes and saw that he was in the same basement in his dream the night before, and, to his surprise, he saw the man in black robes across the room.

(all movement is in slow-motion, no audio except music is heard)

A dark blue fog covered the ground and was waist high around him as he stood. The man in black robes looked up, and, just as before, stood at the far end of the room wearing the frightening golden mask with many colored stones embedded within. Only this time, instead of the black book, he drew a dagger from his robe and slowly walked toward Jeff.

Paralyzed with fear, Jeff found himself unable to move or run away. In his mind, he knew this mysterious specter in the mask was indeed the vengeful spirit of warlock Judah Zachary.

-music loop hits peak volume-

From out of the shadows, a transparent woman in a white dress, whom Jeff recognized as Angelique, appeared and ran toward the masked figure. Her arms grabbed his, and ,as they struggled, he threw her to the ground. Before she landed, her hand caught the bottom of the figure's mask, causing it to fall to the ground.

(camera zooms in on the mask hitting the ground and shattering like glass)

The figure's hands covered his face, and he clenched his fists over his eyes. As his fists lowered, his eyes were opened, and they burned with intense rage and hatred. Though balding on top, the man had long hair, and his eyes burned black with rage and evil.

The ghostly figure of Angelique lay on the ground, and she screamed silently while reaching her hand out to Jeff. Before Jeff could react, Angelique was consumed by a white flame that made her writhe in torment as she vanished in only seconds.

The dagger gleamed as Judah drew it again, staring deeply into Jeff's eyes. However, as Jeff looked into the man's eyes, he saw Judah Zachary's face beginning to fade slowly as a new one was being formed.

As the old face began fading and the new one formed, Judah Zachary projected still images into Jeff's mind.

(music screeches loudly with each image flash; between each image, Judah's new face becomes more visible and recognizable)

(images Jeff sees)

-David digging a coffin in the spot where Dr Guthrie discovered the hole-

-David opening the coffin and putting on the mask of Baal-

-The shadowed figure that was standing on their porch during the storm-

-David standing in the doorway after Jeff opened the door and shot-

-David sitting by the fireplace, holding the brass pentagram-

-David smiling inside Jeff's art gallery at his portrait of Charles and Angelique burning-

-David backing against the door when Dr Guthrie's black jet stone ring was close to him in the car-

-David walking ahead of them fearlessly toward the tower of the mansion-

(the new face of Judah Zachary forms, and it is David's face)

Jeff screamed as he realized that Judah revealed his possession and control of David the entire time that David was with them. He knew that Judah had brought them there to destroy them once the full moon of Samhain was shining, opening the way for his spirit to return in full power. Jeff fell down to his knees and began screaming. His eyes were closed, and his hands covered his temples.

(the white border recedes, indicating the dream sequence is fading)

-music cue opening of "Night of the Pentagram" by Robert Cobert loops-

(movement is in slow motion)

Jeff was still on his knees screaming as he began to wake from the dream, and he turned and ran toward the staircase. The basement door flew open, and Jeff, covered in perspiration, hurriedly made his way across the hallway to the stairs.

(camera cuts away at David and Dr Guthrie pulling away the debris that had fallen on the staircase, but they both turn as they hear Jeff coming toward them)

Wild and fierce with madness, Jeff's eyes focused on David as he lunged toward him. Jeff grabbed David's shirt and pushed him down the hallway towards the terrace. The lock that held doors to the terrace was no match for the strength Jeff's madness had given him. With a loud smash, Jeff pushed David right through them.

David struggled to cry out and break free from his hold, but Jeff's madness had overtaken him and was impossible to subdue. Jeff grunted as he began to push David over the balcony's edge. David's hands grasped furiously for a grip of anything within reach to secure himself from falling.

With a loud blast that echoed through the night sky, Jeff's grip loosened on David, and he screamed out as he fell over the edge.

(camera shows Dr Guthrie standing in the doorway holding a smoking gun, and he runs to the edge to stand beside David; music stops)

"Are you alright, David?" Dr Guthrie asked David as he backed away from the edge of the balcony.

David nodded. "Jeff...he tried to kill me! Why? Why, Dr Guthrie?"

Dr Guthrie spoke through labored breathing. "He...he was mad, David. The mind is a delicate thing. It...it can only take so...so much."

Dr Guthrie peered over the edge, and looked down at Jeff's lifeless body.

(overhead view of Jeff's body is shown, with a bloody gunshot wound in the left side of his chest; camera pans back to Dr Guthrie looking down over the edge)

"Come now, David, we have to go get Mag-"

As Dr Guthrie began to speak and turn around, David quickly shoved Dr Guthrie off the balcony.

(camera shows Dr Guthrie falling, then lying face-down on the ground by Jeff)

-music cue "A Darkness at Collinwood" by Robert Cobert plays-

"No need to worry, Doctor. I'll get Maggie." David said as he stared down at Dr Guthrie's and Jeff's bodies lying on the ground.

David looked at the night sky and saw the clouds around the moon moving away. Smiling as he turned toward the door, David walked slowly and somewhat triumphantly into the house.

When he reached the stairway leading to the gallery, David walked through the pathway that he and Dr Guthrie managed to clear before Jeff had attacked him.

As David reached the top of the stairs , he leaned against the door that led to the tower gallery where Maggie had entered only moments ago. His face twisted into a satisfied grin. With a slow turn of the knob, David went inside the gallery, closing the door behind him.

**I do not own the rights to Dark Shadows. My fanfiction is only meant for the enjoyment of the reader**


	10. FINAL ACT

FINAL ACT

(the scene opens with Maggie's hand scraping a stone against the floor in a large circular motion, and the camera pans to her face, which seems to be a blank expression, suggesting she is under some kind of hypnosis)

-music cue: opening of "Night of the Pentagram" by Robert Cobert-

As David crossed over the last step that led into the tower room, he looked to his left and saw Maggie standing to her feet. She stood in the center of a large pentagram that she had formed from scraping the gallery floor with a stone.

David asked as he walked closer to her, "Maggie, what are you doing?"

Maggie stared at him, still holding the stone in her hand. "David...David...I don't know...Jeff...where is Jeff...?"

David's eyes turned cold, and his stare into Maggie's eyes made her turn away. "The descendant of Titus Clark is dead. He served his purpose of bringing you here. Now, you will finish what you began. The full moon of Samhain has risen, and the time has come that my spirit shall be complete within this vessel."

Maggie looked at the stone in her hand, and looked around as if she had just become conscious of her surroundings. She saw that she was standing in the center of the pentagram, and she was unable to move. "Jeff...?! David! No! Help me!"

"Silence!" David struck Maggie with the back of his fist. "No one is here to help you, Maggie. They're all dead! The boy who once inhabited this body is gone, as are all of his memories. I did not know who you were when I found you last night at that house. I only felt the blood of Titus Clark's descendant leading me to him. The blood from one of Titus' descendants is the only sacrament that will allow my spirit to dwell in this body and restore my powers. Now, you will do as I bid you to do!"

Maggie scowled, her eyes burning with hurt and anger. "If the blood of Jeff was what you needed, then why did you kill him?!"

David walked to a corner of the room, and from there he carried a large rectangular-shaped object covered with a black shroud. He set the large object down on the floor in front of her and removed the shroud.

There, inside a glass case, was the head of Judah Zachary. The dark eyes opened and fixed on David, who stared in delight. Maggie screamed out in terror as she saw the eyes turning toward her.

Staring down at her as he moved inside the pentagram, David asked, "Why? Did you really believe you could keep it hidden from me as well? You never told your husband, did you? How incredibly female you are. Your deception runs deeper than mine. I know that you are carrying the next descendant of Titus within you-his child, but now, the blood price must be paid! The blood of Clark's descendant will open the way for my spirit to dwell in this body."

Maggie tried to get up, but her body was unable to move. She choked sobs as she pleaded with him. "Please, don't...don't do this, David...You can't...please...You don't have to...have to do this!"

"Begging? Tears? Please go on...that will give me great pleasure while I watch you bleed to death. Only you will call me by MY name-Judah Zachary. It will be a name that will haunt you long into the eternity to which I am about to send you."

Seeing a set of medieval blades mounted on the wall, David unsheathed a dagger and walked back to where Maggie was on her knees. Standing behind her, David turned to look out the window.

The clouds had now separated, and the full moonlight illuminated the gallery, shining on the pentagram where they stood. David's lips curled into a wide, satisfied grin as his dark eyes gleamed in the moonlight. He placed the dagger directly in front of her heart, and he watched Maggie trembling.

-music peaks-

David drew his arm back, and clenched his teeth tightly. Maggie shut her eyes and braced for the blade to pierce her heart. Inside the glass case, the eyes of Judah stared intently before David moved to strike.

-pumm-pumm...pumm-pumm...pumm-pumm...pumm-pumm-

"What is that?" David said aloud as he lowered the dagger. "A heart beat? Where is it coming from?! Where are you?" His eyes wild with fury and confusion, David shuffled his feet around the room as he looked in all directions trying to find where the noise was coming from.

((movement is in slow motion, no audio except the heartbeat and music loop of the opening of Robert Cobert's "Meditations" is heard))

With each pulse, the sound of the heartbeating grew louder until it was almost deafening. David began screaming erratically and covered his ears as the noise echoed deeply withib them.

Shattering a frame of the gallery window, a bat crashed through the glass and flew toward David, causing him to fall backwards on to the tower room floor.

Suddenly, the door to the gallery was thrown open, and Dr Guthrie struggled to hold himself up. He saw David lying on the ground, and he limped as quickly as he could toward him. Bruised and covered in blood, Dr Guthrie pulled the ring with the jet stone from his finger and held it out.

David turned around and bellowed as he plunged the knife into Dr Guthrie's chest. With his last ounce of strength, Dr Guthrie managed to shove the ring on to David's hand before collapsing on the floor.

((movement is still in slow motion, music begins to fade quietly as David falls to the floor))

David screamed in pain as he thrashed about on the floor, feeling life draining out of him as Judah's spirit began to dissipate. His eyes were fierce with fear and shock, and his screaming echoed thoughout the room as he felt Judah's life force fading from him. After the spirit of Judah Zachary had expired and the hold was broken, David's body lay still on the floor in a limp, unconscious state.

Maggie screamed and turned toward the glass case where Judah's head was encased. Right before her eyes, Judah's head was reduced to an empty skull. Covering her eyes, Maggie shook her head and felt panic gripping her. Then she heard a voice that rendered her completely motionless.

"Josette..."

The familiar voice reverberated within her ears, sending tremors down her spine. It called to her again. "Josette..."

Maggie uncovered her eyes and turned around slowly. There, in the moonlight by the broken window, stood the tall figure of Barnabas Collins.

Maggie turned to face him, and her eyes met his. She was unable to speak or run away.

Reaching into his cloak, he slowly pulled out a tiny object, and his hand removed the cover. The room was filled with the soft, beautiful sounds of the music box he held.

-music cue "Josette's Theme" by Robert Cobert plays-

"Josette, you have come back to me...as I have to you. Tonight, you must return to me from the land of the dead...please...your spirit must come back to me...Do you hear the sound? Follow the sound of the melody, Josette...let it guide you back to me..."

Maggie felt strangely inside. Though awake, she felt as if she was losing all control and slipping into unconsciousness. She felt her body and mind being taken by some unnatural force that was overwhelming her senses and will.

"Josette, you must return to me...the light of this moon shall guide you back to me...Josette...do you hear my voice? Do you hear your melody? Please...return to me so that we may be together again..." Barnabas begged.

Maggie felt all control lost as she began to speak. Her eyes blinked as if she were trying to focus and see for the first time.

((Maggie's voice reverberates slightly while she speaks, as if another voice is coming out through her own simultaneously))

"Barnabas? Barnabas...?" Josette asked through Maggie.

Barnabas' stern face elated to an expression of pure joy as he stepped toward her. "Yes, Josette, my love...I am here. Please...take this. I was going to give this to you the night of our wedding before they put this curse on me...before they caused me to lose you, Josette. Please...listen."

Maggie held the box in her hand, and smiled adoringly as the melody played. A tear rolled down her cheek. "Music?...That music...It's beautiful...I shall always treasure it, Barnabas. Tell me, why am I here?" She began to cry. "Please...you mustn't see me this way..." She turned her head away and looked downward, but Barnabas placed his hands on her arms, gently turning her back toward him.

"Josette, my darling...please, there must be no tears. Please...listen to the melody. Listen..." Barnabas pleaded softly with her. "Just as this has crossed the seas, so have I crossed the centuries...all for your sake...so that we may share the moment when I would give this to you."

Her eyes twinkling as she turned to stare into the dark eyes of her lover, the music captivated her, and she returned his smile.

Barnabas spoke softly to her, smiling as they looked down at the music box together. "This was to be given to you the night we vowed to spend eternity together, Josette. That night...has finally come for us."

"Eternity...together..." Josette's voice reverberated through Maggie's voice as she spoke. "Barnabas...I love you."

Barnabas brushed her falling tear with his thumb and held his hand against her cheek. "And I love you, Josette. You must understand that what I must do now...is so that we may spend eternity together. I cannot lose you again. We shall always be together. We shall never be apart again, Josette."

Barnabas' hand slid behind Maggie's ear, brushing her hair back and exposing her neck. "Always...never apart..." Barnabas leaned in and whispered in her ear before he slowly drew his head back.

With the reflection of the moon gleaming on his fangs, Barnabas began to move in to take her one last time.

"Maggie, NO!"

David, now fully conscious, saw Maggie about to be taken by Barnabas and grabbed her arm, pulling her away with his hand that wore the black jet stone ring. Maggie cried out in pain as the stone began to draw the spirit of Josette from out of her.

Barnabas' eyes flashed with distress as he shouted in despair, "Josette!"

"Maggie!" David held on to her tightly, completely unaware of the fact of what he was doing by holding the stone against her body. The spirit of Josette screamed loudly through Maggie as it finally faded into silence, leaving Maggie falling limply in David's arms as he lowered her to the ground.

-music cue "The Chase" by Robert Cobert-

With a quick turn, Barnabas lunged toward David, holding him down on the ground. His hands were tight around David's throat, and his grip was like a madman's. The last shred of his resolve gone, Barnabas forced all of his strength into the grip around his victim's throat.

David's hands grabbed furiously at the vampire's arms, thrashing about and struggling to free himself. David's knees managed to push Barnabas slightly off to the side, loosening the grip just enough to slide away and move.

In a split second, David's eye caught an image of a crucifix hanging loosely on the wall. His fingers barely touched the base of it before he felt himself being dragged down again. The crucifix fell from the wall and hit the wooden floor of the tower room. Barnabas quickly pulled David back toward him when he hit the ground, but his foot broke free, giving him a quick second to propel himself toward the crucifix and grab it.

David turned around and held the cross directly in front of Barnabas, who cried out and turned away. David quickly jumped to his feet and moved toward Barnabas with the cross.

In a moment of pure agony that he felt from within the depths of the remnants of his soul, Barnabas wailed and cried out in deep despair, shattering all the glass in the tower room. The night sky echoed with the reverberation of his scream as he quickly transformed into a bat, flying out of the window. David dropped the cross and covered his ears, shutting his eyes and gritting his teeth as the shattered glass crashed around him.

-music stops-

After opening his eyes, David darted across the room, looking out the window into the night sky. The moon was still, and the heavy clouds rolled past and covered its beams. David looked behind him. "Maggie! Maggie?"

He knelt beside her and placed his hands underneath her head and back, elevating her slightly. "Maggie? Maggie, are you okay? Maggie?" David shook her gently,and kept calling to her. As she came to, her eyes beginning to flutter.

Suddenly, her eyes were wide open, and she began to gasp for air and hyperventilate as David held onto her. "Shhh! It's okay, Maggie, he's gone. It's okay, it's okay. We've got to get out of here, come on!"

Maggie sobbed and held on to David tightly. Helping her stand to her feet, David walked her slowly across the floor. He looked down at the body of Dr Guthrie lying dead on the floor. Maggie stopped and stared at it, cupping her hands over her mouth and turning away. David nudged her,to keep moving, and together they walked down the stairs.

-scene fades, and the outside of Collinwood is shown. David is seen helping Maggie walk as they leave the mansion together-

They walked across the grounds and paused to see that snow had silently began to fall. Maggie stopped when she saw Jeff's broken body lying on the ground and the deep red pool of blood-stained snow around him. Maggie fell limp, and David caught her.

David tried to carry her along but struggled as Maggie was completely limp as he tried to walk with her. Hearing the ringing of an approaching engine, David looked up and saw Dr Guthrie's station wagon pulling up nearby.

A tall man opened the driver-side door and came toward them. He was dressed in coveralls, and he walked slowly toward them, not saying a word. David and Maggie stared as he came closer, but Maggie slightly came to and recognized him. "A...Adam..."

Adam walked slowly toward them, rubbing his hands together nervously while looking down at the ground. "I don't mean ya no harm, Miss. I came back even after that man drove away. I tried to warn him, but...he didn't listen to me none. Fool thing for him to do to come up here like that and drivin' the way he did." He turned toward the vehicle. "I fixed it up the best I could, but If he'd listened to me, you'd all still be here. Are they still in there?"

Maggie didn't answer. She struggled to walk forward with David toward the running station wagon. Adam watched as David walked Maggie around to the passenger side door.

Opening the door, David helped her inside. He walked around and looked up at the hill, and Adam had disappeared. Looking around in every direction, David saw no trace of anything or anyone except the blanket of snow that had covered the ground.

-music cue, "Memories of a Lifetime" by Robert Cobert-

David went around to the driver-side door and got in. He looked over at Maggie, who was sitting down quietly as if in shock, keeping her eyes forward. The wipers slowly glided across the windshield, brushing powdery snow as David pulled forward, leaving Collinwood one last time.

-music fades as the scene changes-

((the camera zooms on Maggie who is still staring forward, and her hands move over her stomach, caressing over where she feels her child inside of her))

((Scene fades to the moon in the distance with the sound of waves crashing. The camera pans back slowly to Barnabas staring out over Widows Hill, holding open Josette's music box in his hand as it plays its melody))

((Barnabas stares out over the sea in deep contemplation. His inner monologue recites as the melody of the music box plays))

"When I am dead, my dearest, sing no sad songs for me. Plant thou no roses at my head, nor shady cypress tree...I shall not see the shadows, I shall not feel the rain. I shall not hear the nightingale sing on, as if in pain. And dreaming throughout the twilight that doth not rise nor set, happily I may remember, and happily...may forget." (*)

Barnabas lowered his head and knelt to the ground. Standing on the spot where he said good-bye to Josette the first time, he set the music box down on the ground. He turned and walked away as it sat there, quietly playing its melody.

((camera fades to black and holds as if the film is over))

((An approaching headlight comes toward the screen as a train roars by. White text letters appear at the bottom of the screen))

OCTOBER 31, 1993

-music cue "Collinwood Opening Theme" by Robert Cobert-

A young woman with raven black-hair is sitting by herself on the passenger train with a briefcase overhead and a journal in of front her. Bundled up in a long coat she is holding together with her hands, she looks out the window at the evening sky as the sun sets.

((Her voice narrates))

"My name is Victoria Winters. Dusk has settled over the town of Collinsport, and my mind is filled with many questions. My journey is beginning with a place I have never been, and with someone I have never met. I received a letter one month ago addressed to the foundling home where I grew up in New York. The author of the letter stated that this town was the place of my birth, and that he had information as to whom my parents and family were. Included in the letter was an invitation to come live in a house high atop Widows Hill-a house known as Collinwood. With only a few months before my nineteenth birthday, I decided to make the journey to unlock the mysteries of my past."

"Until now, my only link has been a note that was pinned to the cardboard box left on the doorstep with me by whom I was told was a young boy that vanished from sight before he could be identified. The note read:

'Her mother died from complications during chidbirth. Her name is Victoria. I cannot take care of her.'

"With my destination nearing an end, I am certain my real journey is only beginning with the man who knows the secrets of my past..."

Victoria closed her journal and set her pen to the side. When she closed the book, the letter and invitation she received was lying underneath. Taking the letter in her hand, she stared out the window.

((camera pauses as Victoria looks out, her voice echoes as she speaks))

"...Barnabas Collins."

-music cue "Memories of a Lifetime" by Robert Cobert plays as the ending credits begin to roll-

-THE END-

MAGGIE EVANS...KATHRYN LEIGH SCOTT

JEFF CLARK...ROGER DAVIS

DR PETER GUTHRIE...JOHN LASELL

DAVID COLLINS...DAVID HENESY

BARNABAS COLLINS...JONATHAN FRID

JUDAH ZACHARY...MICHAEL MCGUIRE

ANGELIQUE COLLINS...LARA PARKER

CHARLES COLLINS...DAVID SELBY

ADAM...ROBERT RODAN

VICTORIA WINTERS...ALEXANDRA MOLTKE

-All music composed and conducted by Robert Cobert-

Story written and edited by IBarnabas

(C) 1974 Dan Curtis Productions

(*) Quote taken from "When I Am Dead", music by Robert Cobert, narrated by Jonathan Frid

**I do not own the rights to DARK SHADOWS. My fanfic is only meant for the enjoyment of the reader**


	11. BONUS FEATURES AND EXTRAS

(A/N** This chapter is only some of the details that went on during the writing of this story. While it's not necessary at all to read this to understand the story, I thought some might enjoy learning a little behind-the-scenes trivia that went into creating the film story. I personally am a sucker for bonus features, commentaries, and interviews, and if you are the same way, I hope you enjoy this little segment .WARNING: Does contain spoilers!)

BONUS FEATURES AND EXTRAS

CHOOSING A TITLE FOR THE MOVIE: _ OF DARK SHADOWS

When I had the basic outline of this story written, I kept trying to think of one word that would sum it all up to plug into the "blank" OF DARK SHADOWS. The word that came to my mind repeatedly was "ominous". This is a very dark and intense story and, as the word suggests, very ominous in its tone.

The premise of the full moon of Samhain is an omen that many pagans believe to be a very important supernatural event that occurs every 19 years. Since that was the driving plot behind the story, it seemed right to precede "_ OF DARK SHADOWS. The word I kept going back to and the word "omen" seemed to be the exact fit for the title, and for me, it really clicked.

Although not my intention nor the reason behind my title selection, one may think of this as a tie-in to the horror classic, THE OMEN, which portrays a young boy possessed by the Antichrist. Although this could be related to what happens to David, this wasn't my reasoning for the title. So, I promise this wasn't an attempt to borrow from that movie. I chose the word based on the plot point of the "supernatural omen" of the full moon of Samhain and the ominous mood of the story itself.

WHY A SEQUEL TO HOUSE/NIGHT OF DARK SHADOWS?

I loved both movies. While I like NODS slightly more than HODS, I feel that they have continuity that links them together even though they are completely different stories. There is a distinct hint of continuity that is so brief, however, that it may be easily overlooked.

For instance, Carlotta Drake mentions "the last mistress of the House, Mrs Stoddard, had a tradition of serving tea before she died.", referring to Elizabeth Stoddard from HODS. Although we never see her dying and only losing her mind, it suggests that perhaps this happened within the last year.

I understand that some may see this as a "name-only" mention, but I see it as a connection between the two. Neither opinion is wrong, but that was just the premise behind my wanting to continue and finish the story.

In NODS, no one was left alive but Angelique and Quentin (Charles), and in HODS, only Jeff, Maggie, and David survived. David was never seen past the moment when Sheriff Patterson was praising the Lord and passing out the silver ammunition to kill Barnabas, so his whereabouts were a mystery.

On top of that, we saw at the end of HODS, Barnabas isn't truly dead and flies away as a bat before the film ends, opening a window for another story to be told.

Taking all of these elements together: Jeff, Maggie, David, Quentin, Angelique, and even Barnabas gave an enormous opportunity to go once more into this timeline of DARK SHADOWS for one last time and tie everything together. This was something I've wanted to do for months, and had an oddball source as the platform to base the story on.

LAYING THE GROUNDWORK FOR THE NEW FILM STORY

As I mentioned, I had a strange inspiration to base where I wanted to go with this film. My goal was to write a story that was entertaining, intense, and very generous in what it delivers with what fans wanted to see in the first two entries. In comes the king of the monsters himself to lay the foundation: Godzilla.

I am and always have been a Godzilla fan, and one of the best was the last one before the reboot in May 2014. It was called GODZILLA: FINAL WARS.

In this film, every monster that was ever featured in any of the (then) 50 years of films was thrown in. I wanted to put every character that I could into this story without giving the reader/viewer the feeling that characters were "shoe-horned" in.

This idea is why I wanted to bring in John Lasell as Peter Guthrie, Robert Rodan as Adam, Michael McGuire as my favorite Dark Shadows villain (besides Angelique) Judah Zachary, and Alexandra Moltke as Maggie's daughter, Victoria Winters. I would have loved to feature one of Marie Wallace's characters, but most fans know that she was originally written into HODS, so I felt like I should leave that alone. This was really sad for me because I really love Marie Wallace, but for the sake of the story to be told and not overcrowding the cast, I decided to leave her in the HODS timeline and leave the original material alone in that sense.

From the get-go, I wanted this to be a very generous film in that it would deliver the two best-loved villains of the series, Barnabas and Angelique, and introduce a new character from the series into the film storyline through Judah Zachary, who himself is raw, unemotional evil personified. No one is sacred to him, and nothing drives him more than his need for power and vengeance.

THEY TALKED, I LISTENED.

I've heard many fans speaking of things they wish they had seen in the two films, and I really wanted to address them the best way that I could. First of all on my list was to try and address what many fans complained was the thinness of the leading couple.

In television, especially a show that is serialized daily like DARK SHADOWS, characters become part of our daily lives and who we are. We know them inside and out, and can often predict what they may do before they actually do it. That's a relationship that is involuntarily established when you become involved in a television show. In films, however, it's much different.

Given that these are basically the characters of the same name as the series, DARK SHADOWS fans go into the films with all of the lines basically colored in about who these characters are based on their daily interaction with them through the show. For those not so acquainted with the show, they may not see much to these characters and feel that, by the time the film is over, they never really knew much about them. In HODS/NODS,the underdevelopment of Maggie/Jeff and Quentin/Tracy has been addressed, and so I wanted to spend a bit of time establishing the survivors of these two as real, fleshed-out characters.

In the aftermath of what they've been through, they're dealing with all kinds of emotional baggage. Definitely not any kind of "textbook" trauma that a normal therapist or psychiatrist would really know how to give coping skills to deal with these circumstances.

SETTING THE MOOD

I believe, as both films did so well, that atmosphere is everything. Both films, especially NODS, looked like they were shot on very chilly fall days. This automatically sets a tone and mindset of Halloween, giving the feeling of chilly crisp air blowing, the smell of leaves and the sounds of them crunching, and the melancholy tone that fall colors and scenery seem to develop in oneself. On top of this, I wanted to really to give the reader/viewer an in-depth look of what Jeff and Maggie are feeling and how they are trying to cope with the fear that they live in.

As you have read, Maggie and Jeff have about four years worth of space between this story and HODS, and with it, they have four years of baggage that they carry with them. Jeff lives in constant fear and often has nightmares, seeing them obsessively as premonitions. Maggie has become somewhat of an alcoholic and a "raw sore that won't heal". Both of them feel bitterness to an extreme as they now live in hiding, and their fears have trapped them inside their little safe-house. Jeff blames Maggie for his life being wasted because he was a very talented artist, and he feels that his obligations as Maggie's husband and protector have ruined his life.

Maggie has developed an internal resentment toward her husband as she hears Jeff blaming her for his problems and for his life taking the direction that it has. She sees him as an unstable aggressive mess that she has no choice but to give in to for fear of safety. All of this on top of their own fears and experiences from HODS give them an overflowing cornucopia of emotional baggage to dig through and cope with. Neither of them want to stay, and they live very claustrophobic lives. On the other hand, they both feel the small glimmer of hope buried underneath all of this trauma that makes them believe that someday, they will be free from their fears and they will learn to love each other the way they had originally started. Underneath it all, they still feel enough love for each other that they just can't give up completely and leave.

This is where Dr Guthrie's character comes in. During the early days of television and film, doctors were colored as omnipotent and invincible. Dr Guthrie's character sort of follows that approach as he not only is an expert on the paranormal,he also seems to have a keen sense of healing emotional hurts as well. It is implied in the story that he has been working not only to take care of Maggie and Jeff physically by giving them a house to live in and bringing them supplies and food regularly, but he has also been trying to help them manage their instabilities with each other and help them to try to live and function as normally as possible.

With all of this in mind, Jeff and Maggie, who live at odds with each other, are forced to trust and hold on to each other as they return to Collinwood to face their fears in one last chance to try to overcome the evil that haunts and threatens them on a day-to-day basis.

In an interview with Collinsport Historical Society, Humbert Allan Astredo commented that, to keep an audience entertained, you have to think of a rubber band. You have to keep it stretched and maintain that tension throughout the story or you will lose your audience. This is a very stressful story, and when writing it, I did everything I could to keep that "rubber band" stretched as tightly as possible throughout. It is a very intense story that deals constantly with raw fear and emotions, and it leaves very few seconds that you can relax. One of the most stressful elements of life is a time-limit, so adding this into the mix was the icing on the cake as far as tension was concerned.

The events of this movie take place in a 24-hour timeframe, but when the plot of the full moon is revealed, seconds become precious time until the end.

RETURN TO COLLINWOOD

When David arrives, he is possessed by the spirit of Judah Zachary, whose body he came across when he returned to Collinwood the night before. With him, he brings the diary of one of his disciples, Titus Clark, who is an ancestor of Jeff's. Judah uses his power to find Titus Clark's descendent, knowing that, because of the spell cast on his body, he needed the blood of one of his descendants to return to full power on this rare omen of a full moon that fell on the pagan holiday of Samhain, or as we commonly refer to it as, Halloween.

According to pagan myth, the gateway between the spiritual realm and our own natural realm is opened and many spirits and demonic forces enter into the world during this phenomenon that occurs every 19 years. Using this as a means to lure them back to Collinwood where his body was buried by his disciple, Judah uses David's body to bring them all back by making them believe that they had to destroy the body of Judah Zachary. All the while, he was luring them there to kill them all and use the blood of Titus Clark's descendant to completely restore his spirit and live again.

One of my favorite moments in this story is the nostalgic feeling as the famous melody that opens NODS plays as they return to Collinwood during the sunset. The music, I feel, is an important part to horror films, especially in DARK SHADOWS.

SCORING THE SOUNDTRACK

Of course, there was no where else that I wanted to go except to Robert Cobert. The music he composed in the series was such an integral part, and I would go so far as to say that the music itself was like its own character in the series. That music was transferred so well into the films.

Each film had its own original piece that wasn't featured in the show. At the end of HODS, the music, although used in THE STRANGE CASE OF DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE, was new to the series and was so powerful in its dynamic. As mentioned earlier, the opening theme of NODS is legendary and so well-loved by fans. It's a haunting melody that is both scary and beautiful at the same time.

With this story, I wanted to bring in the piano theme, "Memories of a Lifetime" that was used in the Dan Curtis film, BURNT OFFERINGS. It's a beautiful piece, and dealing with the subject matter of a story dealing with reincarnation of both horror and romance elements, it seemed a perfect fit into this story.

Adding music cues was difficult, but for those who knew the music and appreciate it as much as I do as its own entity in the DARK SHADOWS world, I felt that it was necessary to include them to drive the atmosphere and emotion conveyed in each act.

THE RETURN OF BARNABAS

This was a tricky subject. Carolyn was staked and never returned in HODS, and neither did the rest of the Collins family who was afflicted with vampirism. So how did Barnabas escape after he was staked by Jeff?

For this, I used an excerpt from Lara Parker's book, ANGELIQUE'S DESCENT. In her book, she spoke of a vampire whose curse mandated that he could only be killed during the day while sleeping in his coffin. He and the arms of death that held him in his coffin by day had to be struck simultaneously before he was truly vanquished. Since the origins of Barnabas were different in this timeline, this left an opportunity to use this as an explanation for how Barnabas was able to return.

In HODS, Barnabas told Willie a story of how he lost Josette and how he was afflicted by his curse. There was no love affair with Angelique in this timeline. He told Willie that "they" put this curse on him. Putting two and two together, I thought, "What if 'they' were disciples of Judah Zachary?"

((Enough for story's sake was explained by Dr Guthrie in ACT VI, but to see a little mini-story that builds up this film, check out THE DIARY OF TITUS CLARK for the full back story on the curse))

Since Barnabas' father, Joshua, had Judah Zachary tried and executed for witchcraft, his disciples came together and inflicted a curse on Barnabas so that he would kill his family and anyone else in town who defied their leader. As part of the curse, they made the only vulnerability such that he could only be truly stopped if he was struck in the same manner. He and death had to be struck simultaneously to truly destroy him. This gave an opportunity and explanation as to how Barnabas could return even after the ending of HODS, and provided the means to bring him back into this story.

Barnabas, like Jeff and Maggie, wanted to be free from the life that he was trapped in, and he felt that he was unfairly placed where he was in life because of his curse. More than anything, he also tried to do, as Jeff and Maggie, what it would take to live as normally as possible with the one he loved.

Tragically, in the end, neither of them was able to achieve this. The price of eradicating the source of two centuries of evil and suffering proved to be too high for either of them.

KEEPING THE SAME FORMULA AS THE ORIGINAL TWO FILMS

I tried in every way to keep basically the same "skeleton" outline that was in the two films. You have someone who is smart and knows most of what is going on (Professor Stokes, Carlotta Drake, and Dr Guthrie), a couple who is fighting against the supernatural to survive (Jeff/Maggie, Quentin/Tracy, and one could argue that Jeff/Maggie, Quentin/Angelique, and Barnabas/Josette are all fighting to save their love in this one).

Each film had screeching car scenes, so in this one, I wanted to push this little station wagon past its limits in an exciting sequence where they had to escape from Adam and break through the gates of Collinwood in a hurry.

Of course, as mentioned earlier, I tried to keep the score the same as the show, and introduce only one new theme into the film. I felt that this would help to keep the reader/viewer locked in the world of DARK SHADOWS through familiar sounds and atmosphere that we all love, especially in the dream sequences in this story.

Of course, in the ending, there was the familiar Shakespearean element of most of the cast dying. In this film story, there is very little left to tell. Adam has disappeared, David leaves with Maggie who, as told in the ending, dies from complications only a couple months later while delivering Victoria. Dr Guthrie is dead, Jeff is dead, and Barnabas is forced to live without Josette, whose spirit was lost because of the jet stone.

DIVING INTO THE ENDING

I am not a fan of lame vampire stories that have "super-rings" that allow them to go out in sunlight and twinkle/sparkle or whatever. In this story, I researched some rituals dealing with supernatural manifestations, and I came across a particular stone that many "paranormal experts" believe to absorb and dissolve negative energy that many spirits, whether evil or simply grieving, use as a means to make themselves manifest in our world. Adding something like this seemed to be a different and more credible direction to take. The item didn't give any kind of special powers or immortality, but the stone itself was unique. It wasn't just something that was made up to give a superpower, but was more of a practical tool that is common and has a history passed through different religions and practices.

Enough to cover the explanation of the stone for the story's sake is given by Dr Guthrie in ACT V, but here is the full explanation of what I researched.

This stone is black in color and is called a jet stone. Many believe that it has power to, if someone is possessed, absorb or dissolve the energy required for the possessing spirit to exist, causing them to fade into nothingness. However, the stone must be in close proximity for it to be effective. This is why, if you noticed in the story, David always backs away whenever Dr Guthrie is close because Judah Zachary feels the effects of this stone set inside the doctor's ring weakening him inside of David's body. So Judah's spirit does what he must to stay as far away from Dr Guthrie to keep from losing himself or revealing that he has possessed David.

In the end, however, Dr Guthrie succeeds in destroying the spirit of Judah that was living inside of David. This victory backfired, however, when David came back to his senses and saw Maggie being taken by Barnabas. He grabbed her to pull her away, completely oblivious to the fact that the ring on his finger was destroying the spirit of Josette that had taken control of Maggie.

However, the ending could be seen as one that is hopeful, depending on how you look at it. Although Jeff and Maggie ultimately didn't survive, they could be reunited in death where their problems no longer existed. For Barnabas, although Josette was now gone forever, he would have a chance to try to find his "Josette" again through Victoria Winters.

This ending can bring up some interesting points. Ultimately, I wanted to leave the ending open. Not really a cliffhanger, but one that fans could interpret their own idea of how the scenario could play out. Really, there's not much story there to continue into another film in my opinion, other than maybe a love story that could play out several ways. Maybe some fans would like to see Barnabas and Victoria have a beautiful love story and live happily ever after (my own preference). Some may like to see a re-telling of the trials that Maggie Evans experienced, and see Victoria escaping from Barnabas and see him finally destroyed.

Maybe neither of those. Perhaps Victoria could meet a square-jawed, handsome stranger named Burke Devlin at the train station and go away with him, completely ignoring the invitation from Barnabas.

Allowing fans to talk and make this play out how they would like to see is my final act of generosity with this story. Many fans like/dislike how movies end, so, even though I consider the story finished, it leaves a canvas open for a few extra brush strokes for fans to color it in the way they want.

Who knows? Maybe forty years from now, someone will want to piggyback on this and write a whole new story the way that I did with the original two.

Thanks so much for reading this story, and thanks for caring enough to read the extras about how this story came to be. My hope was that it would genuinely and generously give you that feel and atmosphere as the original two films did, keeping you tense and entertained. I also hoped that it would be one story that has a good "re-read" value that you would go back to someday and notice things that you may have missed the first time around and enjoy it more the second time!

Take care, and many blessings. :)=


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